Local backlash not enough to prevent huge new student housing block

Government planning chiefs overturned a local council decision in Coventry to allow the construction of the 544-bed, six-storey building.

Plans for the block that will replace Progress House. (GDL Architects/Design & Access Statement)

The building will be located in Westwood Heath, near the University of Warwick. An office will be knocked down to facilitate the block.

When the plans were first unveiled last year, it prompted outcry from local residents who claimed the building would worsen the character of the area. Over 80 letters of objection were sent to the council, causing councillors to vote against the plans

The developers Gilltown appealed this decision and on March 8th the plans got the go-ahead. 

The government report on the decision to allow the construction to go ahead concluded that it would not negatively impact resident’s living conditions. 

It concluded that despite being “bulky” in design the overall effect of the block would “not be imposing.”

The report also found significant need for the development of more purpose built student housing near the University of Warwick, which is currently described as “limited.” It is hoped that the block will aid the housing shortage in Coventry, as well as being a redevelopment of an underutilised area.