Student block plans set to be considered again

Plans for a student accommodation block in Birmingham are set to be considered by the council again.

The proposals would see 86 Cliveland Street in the historic Gun Quarter demolished to make way for the new development.

The student block would sleep 317 and have a communal space, laundry and gym.

Plans were previously recommended for approval, but a planning committee deferred the application to wait for more information.

Councillor David Barker had previously said more information was needed to make an "informed decision" about whether it was the right location for student accommodation.

"We need to look back at this and get some up-to-date figures about what is needed with students," another councillor, Jane Jones, added during a committee meeting earlier this year.

In an update issued ahead of next week's planning meeting, council officers said the most recent data available on purpose-built student accommodation showed a "clear need" for the proposed development.

It has been recommended for approval again, subject to conditions.

The update said: "The applicant has asked that members be made aware of the immense difficulties caused by the delay in determining this application to both the funding and the agreement with the contractor.

"In the event of approval, the applicant was targeting September 2026 for completion and first occupancy but that deadline has now been missed."

It added: "It is requested that the application be determined without further delay."

Birmingham's Gun Quarter was previously the centre of the world's gun-manufacturing industry, but a report published earlier this year noted the area's character was changing with "some pace".

The application will be considered by the council's planning committee on Thursday.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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