COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Plans have been submitted for a former car park site



A new 19-storey apartment block for more than 400 students “would create a landmark feature” on the edge of Coventry’s city centre, developers have said.

GS3 Living Ltd has submitted plans for a major new student block on land adjacent to the Ramada Hotel at the corner of Butts, Queens Road and York Street.

This scheme proposes 60 cluster flats and 96 studios for students and a total of 423 bedrooms which GS3 says “will contribute to the growing needs of the city”.

A sky lounge dining area on the 16th floor and a rooftop terrace are also planned.

Applicant GS3 has stated the site will “stand out and provide a landmark building that would lift the character of the locality”.

The plans have been earmarked on a former car park which been vacant since 2007.

No car parking is provided, however there will be cycle storage for at least 140 cycles and use of six spaces in the adjacent multi-storey car park.

The 19-storey building would be 54.9m in height, set adjacent to the slightly taller Ramada building which is 60.5m high.

Plans were submitted at the end of last year and are under consultation until February 11, with a decision expected by April.

Green light for 19-storey student accommodation block in Coventry



A 19-storey purpose-built student accommodation block to serve 423 students in Coventry has been given the go-ahead by councillors.

Applicant GS3 Living Ltd was given unanimous approval for the scheme on the corner of Butts, Queens Road and York Street yesterday (March 4).

It will provide 60 cluster flats and 96 studios for students which GS3 has said will “stand out and provide a landmark building” to “lift the character of the locality”.

The scheme also includes a sky lounge dining area on the 16th floor and a rooftop terrace.

Plans will see the development on a former vacant car park to the front of an existing multi-storey car park which serves the Ramada Hotel.

The 19-storey building would be 54.9m in height, set next to the slightly taller Ramada building which is 60.5m high.

Concerns over the height of the building were raised at Coventry’s planning committee, but planning officer Emma Spandley said: “Objections have been raised regarding the building and the size of it and the fact we shouldn’t use the Ramada as a test case for it.

“But the problem is Ramada is there, it is here to stay so we have to take it into account and try and make it assimilate into the area.”

Other concerns had been raised about potential anti-social behaviour, with committee member Cllr Naeem Akhtar fearing the 423-bed accommodation could “put a lot of pressure” on an area already “blighted with begging and street drinking”.

But Ms Spandley assured: “There is security within the accommodation. Residents will be safe living in this area.”

Further concern had been raised over parking, with only six spaces in the multi-storey car park set aside for use by the student block.