Viability issues mean delayed PBSA tower will not have to make s106 contribution 

Nottingham City Council has granted permission for a scaled-down student accommodation tower block on the east side of the city.

Proposals brought forward by PMI Developments  and Harcourt Land and Development will see 247 student accommodation units delivered.

pmi

The scheme is 10 storeys at its tallest, down from an initially proposed 17

This would include 37 cluster flats, providing 197 bedspaces, as well as 50 individual studio flats. 

Almost 520 sq m of amenity space will include a common room, study room, games room, cinema room and laundry room. 

The site is currently home to a single-storey industrial building, recently used for selling tyres and other motor racing products, and sits near a number of other purpose-built student accommodation schemes.

The CPMG-designed plans will have varying heights, standing at 10 storeys where it face onto Glasshouse Street, with seven and six storeys in the central part of the site, stepping down to four storeys on the other side, where it faces onto a heritage asset.

The application was meant to have been determined in 2022, but the council agreed to an extension of time in order for the applicant to submit substantial revisions to the scheme.

Under earlier plans, the development would have been 17 storeys at its tallest and deliver 401 student beds.

>>See also: London mayor calls in another student accommodation-led scheme

According to planning documents a policy compliant obligation for the development would have been expected to provide a £946,847 contribution, the majority of which for social housing. 

However, a viability appraisal submitted by the applicant and reviewed by the council concluded that the scheme is not viable to pay any s106 contribution. 

The council has agreed with the applicant to include a review mechanism whereby if building does not begin within 24 months of the permission being issued, then a further appraisal would be carried out.

The project team includes AtkinsRealis as project manager and quantity surveyor, Rodgers Leask on structural and civil engineering, and CPW working on M&E.