Developer Art Invest Real Estate (AIRE) has has submitted plans to change a major commercial scheme in Canada Water into student accommodation and housing as London’s office market continues to stutter.

The firm has tabled new proposals for a 26-storey tower and a nine-storey block on plot B of the Dockside Canada Water scheme, which had originally been envisaged as composed entirely of office buildings. The latest version of the scheme, designed by architect TP Bennett, would provide 742 student bedrooms and 326sq m of community space in the tower building, and 75 affordable homes and three retail units in the smaller building.