New halls of residence are set to be built, despite an overall drop in student numbers and a surplus of thousands of homes.

Development company Downing has already bought the land from Leeds Met and built Central Village residences but is now looking to expand due to its popularity with students.

The company is now seeking planning permission from the Council for the final phase of the development, which is set to be finished in September 2015.

The University has not yet agreed to lease rooms in this new part of the site.

Victoria Loverseed, Unipol’s Development Manager, told LS: “Care should be taken in the design to avoid the site becoming too densely occupied, and to prevent the problems of wind tunnels associated with high rise development. Once phase three is complete further development on that site should be avoided and would be opposed by Unipol.”

Downing, who will be responsible for all building services for residents, will
manage the accommodation.

The Union’s Community officer, Frankie O’Byrne told LS: “We understand that the University want to provide a range of accommodation to make sure that everyone’s needs are met and the location is extremely popular. It’s important to remember that there is a huge surplus of accommodation with around 5000 empty bed spaces across Leeds every year.”

Rehema Figueiredo

Photo: Downing