A nine-storey 500 bedroom ‘student village’ is set to be built on a derelict area of land on Bulk Road near the Sugarhouse. The 20 million pound building is intended to increase the availability of good quality student accommodation.
New student accommodation is also being built by CityBlock on the old Squires building site. The increasing number of student specific buildings is frustrating some local residents. They believe that the needs of local residents should be considered more as there is already plentiful student accommodation in the city centre.
The building is set to be the single biggest student development in the city, housing five hundred students. It is also in central location, near the Sugarhouse; the building at St Leonard’s House is next door to the Sugarhouse. LUSU have said they have been aware for a long time about the future of buildings neighbouring the student club.
President Laura Clayson told the Lancaster Guardian. “At this stage no formal proposals have been submitted for development of any of the buildings surrounding The Sugarhouse.
“While we await with interest the outcome of the council’s market research, it would be unwise of us to speculate over the owners’ plans for this building or any of the other potential development sites in the area.”
According to Bulk Ward Councillor Tim Hamilton-Cox the run-down area is a great opportunity for regeneration. He said: “Local property owners and developers are wanting to work with the council to produce a residential-led redevelopment scheme for consultation.” He also put his support behind the possible development of a Gillows Quarter, which would include the main building in North Road, currently home to Elements nightclub.
The councillor suggested that whilst the student housing development concerned some local residents, the project could be beneficial as long as certain stipulations are maintained. He told the paper, “Residents would want to be reassured that parking space on Bulk Road was not compromised.
“The developers promised ashlar stone-facing which is to be welcomed but a 9-storey tower at the foot of the development at the junction of Bulk and Back Caton Roads will impact on the urban landscape very widely – and create shadowing – and hence the need for photomontages from various angles.”
