Asbestos riddled Leicester offices could be demolished for student flats

An asbestos riddled building in the city could be torn down to make way for new student flats. The offices at 18-20 York Road are being eyed up by My Student Digs as its next project.

The company is proposing to bulldoze the “dilapidated” two-storey building and erect a five-storey accommodation block in its place. The new building would contain 20 studio flats if permission is granted for the scheme by Leicester City Council, documents uploaded to the authority’s planning portal reveal.

The applicant said there are numerous types of asbestos throughout the building, some of which are considered to be a high risk to health and safety. Because of this, it is “more feasible” to demolish the building than bring it back to use, they added. The conversion of the offices was also described as “financially unviable”.

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My Student Digs said the new apartments would be aimed at students from Leicester’s De Montfort University given its proximity to the campus. It has originally proposed 31 studios for the new development.

However, after consultation with the city council it reduced the number of rooms and the height of the building. Documents said the original proposals were considered “excessive” and “too prominent” by the authority’s planning department.

The building will also have communal areas for the students, a laundry room and cycle storage. No parking spaces are proposed for the site.

A public consultation into the scheme will run until Wednesday, July 10. A target decision date has been set for Thursday, August 8.