23-storey student development set for go-ahead

Plans to demolish a 1980s-era office building in the centre of Leeds to make way for a student accommodation block rising to 23 storeys look set to be approved.London and Scottish Student Housing submitted plans in October to build 353 student studio flats in an L shaped building in the centre of Leeds.The internal area of the building would create more than 132,000 sq ft of living space and the developer intends to begin construction early next year with a view to opening in time for the student intake in autumn 2019.The site is currently occupied by Symons House, a detached four-storey office building with a modern brick façade located off Belgrave Street. The office building was constructed in the late-1980s and offers 22,400 sq ft of office space.Surrounding buildings include the nine-storey Fairfax House office building and the grade I-listed St John’s Church and gardens by the parking courtyard. Merrion Street is to the south.A report of the chief planning officer recommended that the city plans panel defer and delegate the decision for approval subject to the signing of a section 106 order.London and Scottish Student Housing is a subsidiary of London and Scottish Property which has 14 properties in Yorkshire and many more across the UK.The new development would be the company’s first student accommodation scheme in the city having recently opened a scheme in Sheffield as part of a growing portfolio across the UK.