Town Planning & Urban Design Ltd.

Working with local architect Tony Oldfield Architects, feasibility work was undertaken for a client seeking to erect a replacement building of up to 18 storeys high on a key city centre site, close to a city bus hub and the city centre parks.

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Extensive policy research and a landscape visual impact analysis was undertaken to promote a mixed use of parkside café, hotel and private halls of residence to council officers, including the (then) Head of Service, Paul Nichols.

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Whilst accepting the principle of such a major sustainable development, officers ultimately had some concerns about overall, architectural treatment, scale and impact to the city’s skyline.

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Encouraged by the council’s acceptance of the principle of such a development, the client subsequently asked a different architect to review the proposals and ultimately obtained planning permission for a part 8/9/11 storey building to provide commercial unit and 283 bedspace student halls of residence under references 15/01857/FUL  & 16/01459/NMA, with the development now built out.