Plan for huge Leicester student flats block for former hosiery factory decided

A reworked plan to turn a former Leicester hosiery factory into a six-storey block of student flats has been decided. Developer Jade Ltd failed in 2021 to secure planning permission for the NS Waite building, in Henshaw Street, near Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Leicester City Council planning officers ruled the 2021 plan unacceptable over concerns the accommodation would be cramped and not provide suitable living space for the occupants. They also raised concerns over the height of the proposed development, which they said would harm the Grade II-listed Luke Turner building next to it.

In 2022, Jade Ltd returned with a fresh application for the site which the developer said addressed the problems raised by planning officers. The company was seeking permission to turn the three-storey factory into a six-storey block of student flats, with 45 studios across the floors. A studio flat is a small apartment in which a single room has a variety of uses, eg living room, bedroom and kitchen, usually with a separate bathroom.

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Council officers have now granted approval for the scheme, despite lingering concerns over living conditions for residents. Some of the flats will not “provide ideal levels of amenity” for future occupants, officers said. "Amenity" in relation to homes means "space which allows individuals to carry out household and leisure activities", according to the city council. However, officers further said the plan now included a common room area in the basement of the building, which would provide additional recreation space for the students. They said this element was “essential” to the plan “given the size of some of the studio flats”.

An outdoor courtyard is also proposed, but officers branded it “disappointing” as it was only for use by those living in the ground floor flats. Jade Ltd updated its plan after submitting it to the council to include a roof top terrace for all occupants.

Despite the concerns, officers acknowledged that the “constrained nature” of the site meant opportunities for leisure space were limited. Moreover, the proposed student accommodation use means future occupiers would only be there on a “short-term basis” and “often for only part of the year”, they said. As such, they considered the benefits of converting the building outweighed the concerns over living standards. However, they did warn that if the developer ever wanted to convert the property to general use residences, then improvements would be needed.

Officers also said that changes to the scheme made since the original application, including reducing the height of each new floor and stepping back the top element of the building, had removed their concerns about the impact on the Luke Turner building. The plan would now “sit harmoniously” in the wider street, they added.

Ultimately, they concluded, the development would contribute towards the city’s housing need and would be in a “sustainable location” for the students who would be living there. No car parking is proposed with the scheme, but the highways department ruled this to be acceptable given the proximity to Leicester’s two universities.