Unite Students’ plans for a 511-bedroom purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Elephant & Castle have been approved by Lambeth Council.
Designed by AHMM, the 19,000 sqm scheme will replace a Jewsons builders merchant at 6-12 Kennington Lane with a main 16-storey building and adjacent lower-rise blocks. It will also contain a double-height industrial warehouse space and community space on the ground and first floors.
All buildings on the site, including the Jewsons warehouse and a vacant four-storey building formerly used as a college, will be demolished.
King’s College London is the nominated partner for the student element of the development, which Lambeth’s planning officers had earlier recommended for approval.
Planning officers praised the high-quality design of the scheme, saying the principle of a mixed-use development on the brownfield site is accepted, and regeneration is welcomed.
Unite Students had initially proposed that 35% of the student rooms would be affordable. However, it is now proposing a payment in lieu of £2.71m to fund affordable housing in the borough. This is due to concerns in Lambeth and across London that the influx of similar PBSA applications in recent years may prevent other forms of housing, particularly conventional C3 housing, coming forward.
The project team for the scheme includes landscape architect LDA Design, planning consultant ROK, project manager Underwood Carpenter, structural and civil engineer Meinhardt, transport consultant Arup, refuse consultant WSP and daylight consultant GIA, with Kanda on communications.
“This is an exciting new development for us as it’s our first in Lambeth, a prime Zone 1 location.
“The area is popular with students, offers fantastic transport links across London and is ideally situated for a range of universities.
“The scheme will help to address a shortage of student accommodation in the capital and free up much-needed privately rented homes for local families and professionals.
“With a record development pipeline, we’re working hard to meet the demand for modern, affordable and safe student accommodation across England and Scotland.”
Tom Brewerton, Group Development Director, Unite Students
Unite Students’ development pipeline now stands at 10,000 beds for delivery over the next five years, with a total planned investment of £1.9bn.
The Kennington Lane development in Elephant and Castle will open in time for the start of the 2029/30 academic year.
