Student accommodation building at 4-10 Gildart Street, Liverpool

“The Proposal The application seeks planning permission to carry out the demolition of the existing building and the erection of a 6 storey building for student accommodation with rooftop plant room and external terrace comprising 15 studios and 10 x 6 bed cluster flats (totalling 75 bedspaces), with 1 no. ground floor flexible Use Class E unit, cycle parking and ancillary facilities. More specifically, the proposed student accommodation would comprise:”

“15no. studios (20% of bedspaces) • 10no. cluster units providing 60 bedspaces (80% of bedspaces) each with 5 ensuite rooms and one studio served by a communal kitchen / lounge / diner space.”

“The site is 0.05 hectares in area and is bounded by Bayhorse Lane, Gildart Street and Constance Street. The site is occupied by a two storey brick warehouse building with an adjacent parking/loading area which last operated as a textile retailer. The site is one block back from the London Road District Centre. The area is characterised by a mix of commercial, retail and residential uses.”

“The buildings to the south of the site on Bayhorse Lane are in residential use, with Borden Court, standing 5 and a half storeys high (with a high ground floor) in use as a 121 bedspace student accommodation block. There is a separate small car park to its eastern boundary and on the opposite side of Constance Street to the north lies the Tapestry.”

“Use The Fabric District, and wider Knowledge Quarter, already hosts a quantity of Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA). The site location is close to other PBSA developments. As part of a mix of residential types, PBSA can make a contribution to the area.”

“There are already serious problems with parking for businesses in this area, with multiple blocks of student accommodation already underway with no regard for transport or other amenities. • The building will block the light to the Tapestry. • The obsession with building student housing is ignoring the housing crisis for non- student families - many streets now contain only HMO conversions and non-student residents have nowhere to live.”

“23F/3075 to erect a 6 storey building for student accommodation with rooftop plant room and external terrace, comprising 15 studios and 10 x 6 bed cluster flats, with 1 ground floor flexible Use Class E unit, cycle parking and ancillary facilities, including demolition of existing building at 4-10 Gildart Street, Liverpool 3, be approved subject to a Legal Agreement and Conditions as proposed by the Director of Planning and Building Control. _____”

“That the Application be approved, subject to a Legal Agreement and conditions as proposed by the Director of Planning and Building Control.”