Leicester PBSA Scheme Granted Conditional Approval

A student accommodation scheme located in the Waterside regeneration area of Leicester has been granted conditional approval by the City Council.

The plans for the development were first submitted in April of 2021 and will consist of 205 bedrooms over its eight storeys.

Located within close proximity to the Highcross Shopping Centre the developers behind the scheme are student accommodation specialists Urbanite.

The Woodgate Residents Association were among those objecting to the plans, highlighting the increasing quantity of high-rise buildings in the area.

Arguments for the proposal cite the increased student footfall and jobs the scheme will bring, and hence highlight the benefit to the local economy.

Alongside the student beds, the scheme will provide 134 cycle storage spaces, a gym and a cinema amongst other amenities. No car-parking facilities will be included as part of the development.

The site also sits in the 'All Saints Conservation Area'. The application had outlined the neighbourhood was "blighted" by the vacant state of the plot.

As stated in the planning application, the development presents an "opportunity to remove this eye sore, and deliver a scheme and a use which will positively contribute to and will be more compatible and complementary to, the wider regeneration objectives of the surrounding area, as well as the surrounding heritage assets."