New student accommodation to open in Leamington

A proposal to build new student accommodation in South Leamington has just been approved by the Warwick District Council.

The decision was made on Tuesday 6 January.

The former site of British Telecom – an area of approximately 2,900 square meters – will be handed over to Alumno Developments, a housing company that has “provided homes for around 2000 students” across the country.

Their research shows that there are up to 5,000 Warwick students currently living in Leamington.

The plan is to have two four-storey buildings in Althorpe Street along the canal, potentially housing 187 students from Warwick University.

It will be called “Grand Union Students”.

Sketch of the building Photo: Glenn Howells Architects\Alumno Developments

According to Alumno, there will be a mixture of ensuite rooms and shared bathrooms. There will also be shared communal areas for students which includes an external courtyard only accessible to them.

This will in turn come with a new cleaned-up public space and additional pocket parks to suit all Leamington residents.

Warwick District Council has set up targets to increase sustainability in the area. Therefore students using the accommodation would not be allowed to park their cars within a 1-mile radius.

Isaac Leigh, Warwick SU president stated: “Alumno will start work in May 2016 and have it all finished by September 2017, ready for the 2017/18 academic year, if all goes to plan.”

He assured: “We will continue to liaise with the developers to make sure it is exactly what students need.”

Although permission has been granted by the Warwick District Council, there are no concrete plans yet.