Adobe Hanley Ltd has received approval from Stoke-on-Trent City Council to develop its plans for a new purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in the city.
Councillors originally approved the plans to convert the vacant Hanley Police Station on Bethesda Street into 161 student apartments in December 2022. The planning committee voted unanimously to approve the original plans, with members welcoming the fact that the building would be reused rather than demolished.
However, the new PBSA scheme will comprise 218 student homes – an increase of 57 homes from the original proposals. Each studio will have a minimum floor area of 18 sqm, and will include a kitchenette and ensuite shower room.
“It is concluded that the proposed development constitutes an appropriate form of sustainable development that is in keeping with the adopted development strategy for the city, and which will derive an appropriate level of residential amenity for future occupants. The proposal is considered to be of a scale, massing and design that will contribute positively to the character of the area and will not derive any significant or severe residual impacts to highway safety.”
Planning, design and access statement, Hewitt & Carr Services Ltd
Amenities will include a gym, communal student lounge and laundry room on the lower ground floor, and communal study rooms on every other floor. There will also be four cycle shelters with capacity for 40 bikes, and the existing 36-space car park will be retained for the use of residents.
Prior to operational use of the site, a scheme demonstrating at least four electric vehicle charge points to be provided at reasonably and practicably accessible locations within the car park – and passive infrastructure for at least eight more shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.
“The scheme shall include the following details, on-site warden supervision of student occupiers including key on-site security features relating to access for the buildings and CCTV, a complaint protocol for residents of the building and neighbouring properties, parking management, including a system to prevent the keeping of motor vehicles on-site.
“arrival and departure arrangements for students, including a protocol for the use of designated parking spaces, waste management for individual occupiers and the site as a whole, management of the gym facility in respect of access and operational hours and management and maintenance of all landscaped areas.”
Planning permission notice, Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Prior to Adobe Hanley being approved to transform the site into a new PBSA scheme, the building had been closed to the public since 2017, when the police station facility was moved to One Smithfield.
