Plans for the demolition of an old Nottingham cinema to build a student accommodation block in its place have been given the green light.
Developer Zen Nottingham Limited will be demolishing the former cinema building, off Queen’s Road, to make room for a new six to nine-storey tower block.
The old cinema auditorium sits to the south of Nottingham Railway Station, next to the NET tram bridge and the 10-storey Picture Works residential apartment building.
A total of 31 studios and 50 shared accommodation beds will be provided.
The scheme was unanimously approved during a Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday, August 21.
Committee member Cllr Kirsty Jones (Lab) welcomed the transformation of the site, which has been inhabited by the derelict cinema building for a number of years.
Planning permission for a similar nine and six storey building, providing 39 residential apartments and retail units, was originally granted in September 2020.
However this scheme, from a different developer, failed to progress.
The new student scheme was brought to the Planning Committee because it was a departure from the council’s local planning policies.
Cllr Andrew Rule (Ind) said: “This departs from what was originally planned to be residential.
“Does this mean within the wider context of the outside developments that a student development elsewhere will be substituted for a residential [scheme] to make up for that?”
Planning officer Rob Percival replied: “No – all sites are independent so there isn’t that link. This is a suitable alternative.”
Planning officers said the student scheme makes sense in Queen’s Road, owing to the presence of a number of other student accommodation developments in the area, which will be in close proximity to the University of Nottingham’s new Castle Meadow Campus.
The university bought this site, which used to be offices for HMRC, in 2021.
Mr Percival added he believes the current mix of student and residential blocks in Queen’s Road and nearby Traffic Street has “worked pretty well”.
“We remain confident the right balance is being struck in terms of the mix of uses across the wider area,” he said.
The developer will be providing a financial contribution of £176,018 towards affordable housing in lieu of on-site provision, as well as £106,460 towards the provision or enhancement of off-site public open space and a local employment and training contribution of £22,595.
Councils typically grant planning permission to developers on the proviso they contribute financially, via a Section 106 agreement, to projects that benefit the wider community and reduce the impact of the scheme.
Cllr Rule praised the officers for securing the money and added: “I welcome the Section 106 money.”
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