Plans to turn city centre offices into student accommodation

Plans have been made to turn city centre offices into flats for student accommodation.

The proposals for 52-53 Old Steine, Brighton, were submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council last month.

If approved, the vacant offices in the Grade II listed buildings could be turned into 39 studio flats, with a fourth-four extension also planned that could only be seen from the courtyard.

The rooms, which have been called "generous in size", would each have kitchen spaces and ensuite bathrooms.

There would also be a communal area for residents to use.

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Lewis Co and Planning said on behalf of developers Jensco Group: "The student rooms are presented as studios in order to allow for greater independence of students.

"These large rooms mean students will be more likely to comfortably study and socialise within rooms.

"All rooms have en-suite and cooking facilities.

"The communal areas provide very high-quality facilities for socialising, including a cinema area, laundry facilities, pool tables and table tennis."

According to the plans, the communal area would be on the third floor of the building with the flats spread across all four of the floors.

The developers have also planned for eight of the larger rooms at the front of the property to be used as short-term holiday lets over the summer months only.

These rooms each have sea views and were chosen by the developers as they "have the most historical value".

In their planning application, the developers argued that their proposals are justified as there is no longer a demand for offices at the site.

They also said that turning the building into student flats would contribute to the "vibrancy of the city centre".

According to the developers, the offices have been empty since 2020 and have been re-marketed with no success.

They said: "The use of the site as a commercial premises is largely redundant and therefore the change of use to provide student accommodation, which there is a demand for in the city, is acceptable in principle.

"The proposed external alterations to the building will not result in any harmful overshadowing or overbearing impact on nearby occupiers due to its siting and scale."

A decision on whether to approve the plans is set to be made by June 10.