Bid to pick up the pace on student flats development

New plans have been submitted to allow more than 500 student apartments to be built near Bramall Lane.

Proposals for a block offering 535 student beds, and another featuring 74 private apartments and 4,100 sq ft of office space, were approved in January 2015.

As part of the conditions attached by the planning committee, it was required that both buildings should be built and occupied at the same time.

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But developer RMT has now asked if the 535-bed block can be constructed first, under a phased scheme. The site is currently a car park on Denby Street, opposite Sheffield United’s stadium.

In a letter to the council, RMT said it was close to securing investment from a funding partner. “The funders are keen to put a strategy in place, which ensures that the back building - the managed student accommodation - comes forward to open in time for the September 2017 intake.”

The requirement for both buildings to be ready simultaneously could jeopardise meeting the deadline for next year’s student intake, RMT said, in turn putting the funding deal at risk.

The student block would provide apartments in four- and five-bed clusters over six floors. The private flats and offices would be eight storeys in height.