Two Nottingham student accommodations with 1,000 beds set to be approved

Two large-scale Nottingham student accommodation complexes housing a combined 1,000 students have been recommended for approval. An unused car park off Norton Street, Radford, which was once occupied by John Player's Castle Tobacco factory, could be replaced with two seven-storey blocks with 587 bed spaces.

The blocks, which would consist of 116 shared apartments, would be operated by Student Lodge and would include shared spaces, landscaping, eight drop-off car spaces and more than 200 cycle spaces. Meanwhile, a 17-storey tower is proposed for the junction of Wilford Road and Traffic Street near Nottingham railway station.

The scheme by Jensco comprises 396 bedrooms across 265 cluster flats and 131 studios. In documents prepared for Nottingham City Council's next planning committee meeting on Wednesday, June 19, councillors are recommended to approve both of the applications.

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Planning officers have however requested for both developers to make financial contributions towards local infrastructure, asking for the Wilford Road scheme to pay £1.4m for the provision of affordable housing and public open space. Officers requested £442,000 from the Radford development.

Constructing the Norton Street buildings could cost more than £43m, developers Hyson Green Developments Limited said. Concerns over the "layout and massing" of the accommodation were expressed by the Nottingham Civic Society, documents show.

The group said the new buildings will have a more "overbearing impact" on Norton Street. The original factory was built in the late 1890s, expanding to span from Alfreton Road to Radford Boulevard along with a large factory on the opposite side of Radford Boulevard. During the late 1970s the company relocated its business to the Horizon Factory in Lenton, which is now demolished, and the area is now dominated by student accommodation.

The Wilford Road project was originally proposed to be 20 floors tall in 2022, however several revisions of the plans have seen it be reduced to 17 floors. Both the city's universities have been hesitant to support the scheme due to its high proportion of studio flats.

"University [of Nottingham] are concerned that the prevalence of expensive studios would impact on student recruitment, and are the wrong product mix for them," a document reads. Nottingham Civic Society objects strongly, it adds, due to its height "damaging the setting of Nottingham Castle".

In a planning document, The Student Lodge on behalf of Hyson Green Developments Limited, said: "The proposed redevelopment of the Norton Street site represents a significant regeneration opportunity and financial investment into Nottingham, which will form a key component in the ongoing development of the area."

Nigel Bobroff, director at Jensco Group, previously said: “Three Wilford Road will be a high-quality and sensitively designed, car-free, purpose-built student housing development, with vastly improved public realm and fantastic transport links to both universities."