Student Village Plans For Southampton

Public consultation is opening on plans for redevelopment of the former Mayflower Plaza site in Southampton city centre to create new student accommodation and local amenities.

Developer Osborne and landowner Terrace Hill are putting forward their plans for a new student village in Southampton.
 
They want to redeveloping the site to create around 1,000 new units for student accommodation with a shop, a café and gym that would be open to the public at ground level. Cycle racks would be provided rather than car parking and the development would tap into the existing district energy system.
 
The 1.5 acre (0.6 hectare) site is bounded by Havelock Road, Commercial Road and West Park Road, close to Southampton Central station. 
 
Caroline Court, Director of Student Services at the University of Southampton said: “The University of Southampton is committed to increasing the number of hall places it can offer to its students and is working to reduce the pressure on private housing in the city. This development will go a long way to improving our offer to our students. This site with its excellent transport links is ideal. It is altogether fitting that the University returns to having a presence in the city centre where it was originally founded 150 years ago.” 
 
David Sarson, Development Director of Osborne, said: “This development would help fulfil the University of Southampton’s ambition to improve its student accommodation while bringing back into use vacant land in the city centre. Being close to the station and the bus link to the main university campus make it particularly suitable for student accommodation and we would expect a boost to the local economy as a result.”
 
Nigel Wakefield, Development Director at Terrace Hill, said: “Bringing this site back into use as student accommodation would represent over £70 million of private investment in the city, help increase demand for local services and create a catalyst for further regeneration of the area. We would welcome people’s views on the proposals before a planning application is submitted later in the spring.” 

A planning application is likely to follow later in the spring, once comments from the public consultation have been received and taken into account.