Plans to build new student flats in Leamington Spa given the green light

Councillors in Leamington have recently approved new plans to build student flats near Leamington town centre.

Applicants for the new properties were the owners of Landlord Furniture shop in Trinity Street, off Kenilworth Road, who applied to Warwick District Council earlier on this year. The plan is to create three flats with a total of 23 bedrooms on the site, which is currently a two-storey coach house.

The owners now plan to move their business to larger premises within Leamington after the build. It is reported that the proposals were put forward in the first place to the council after the owners had struggled to find an alternative buyer for the coach house building.

The council received a number of objections to the student housing plans, with residents concerned about parking and noise issues. The Leamington Observer also reported that further “complaints were raised about the ‘overbearing’ size of the planned property and its lack of privacy”.

This is not the first time that complaints over student accommodation plans in Leamington have been raised, with some local residents in Leamington feeling that the town is already saturated with university homes. Warwick District Council’s executive also met in June this year to discuss new plans that aim at reducing the number of properties being converted into Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs).

Despite such objections the local councillors seemed willing to grant the planning requests. A report produced for the councillors said the plans would help the authority meet the need for student housing while not having a major impact on neighbouring properties.

Recent research has also shown that house prices in Leamington are among the highest rising in the country outside of London.