Plans to demolish a skip hire plant, homes and a church to build a seven storey student halls of residence have been revealed.
McLaren (Moulsecoomb Way) has submitted the plans for the KSD Environmental Services site, as well as two railway cottages and the St Francis of Assisi Church on the Fairways Business Park in Moulsecoomb Way.
It wants to build a series of buildings from five to seven storeys high to house 378 student bedrooms plus community rooms and offices on the ground floor.
The plans also include a series of courtyards, plus grass and paving.
McLaren’s planning consultant Boyer says in the application that the original scheme was for buildings of eight to nine storeys and 402 bedrooms, but this was reduced following discussions with planning officers.
It says: “Discussions were held with St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in order to provide space that would meet their needs and that of the local community.
“The design was simplified with inspiration taken from the Art Deco style found around Brighton and Hove.
“Part of the site is designated as a protected employment site and the application is proposing to include student accommodation, along with the reprovision of the employment and community uses.
“By virtue of the site being located within a development area where student accommodation is encouraged, the proposal re-providing the employment floorspace currently on the site, and the suite of public benefits of the proposal, including the removal of the troublesome waste transfer use, … permission for development should be granted in this case.”
The application also says the office use would create up to 90 jobs, in addition to an estimated five site management jobs for the student accommodation.
According to McLaren, KSD are set to relocate to a site in North Quay Road in Newhaven, which was previously used by Skip-It Containers before they went bust in late 2018.
Before being used for waste transfer, the site was used as a bus depot until 2003.
Good idea. Students bring money to the city plus is in a grotty area
What about the space that would meet the needs of the local community and the community of the former St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church? Any news about that?