Plans for Grade II listed building to become Nottingham student flats

Plans to convert a historic building into student accommodations have been recommended for approval

8 hours ago

Ellamaria Viscomi | News

Vita, an accommodation provider, has applied to Nottinghamshire City Council for permission to transform the former police headquarters and fire station into student accommodation.

The Grade II listed building on Shakespeare Street which will accommodate around 600 students. It dates back to the 1930s but has been unused since 2016.

Another building from the 1880s, named Fire Station House, will also be restored under the plans and converted into an entrance and communal space.

In November, council leader Neghat Khan said that the city had “largely met its need for new student blocks” and the University of Nottingham said there were already too many studio flats in the city and falling demand.

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Despite this, planning officers have recommended the scheme for approval, saying it was hard to convert the building into anything other than studio flats.

The plans for the site include an extension to the top of the building and a public food hall on the ground floor of the tower.

As well as this, some of the existing buildings would be demolished to make way for development. Conservation officers have said they are happy that the key elements would be preserved.

A tower would also be built in the courtyard of the building, which would have rooms for 364 students.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, plans to demolish the former police and fire station were shelved in 2023 after the building was given Grade II listed protected status at the 11th hour.

It was protected just days before permission was due to be approved by city councillors and an appeal against the listing failed, which sent developers back to the drawing board.