DEMOLITION of the old HSS site in Christchurch Road, Lansdowne has been completed – making way for a new 206-bedroom student accommodation.
Builders from Shore Construction have demolished the old building, and work will soon start on an new seven-storey accommodation for students attending Bournemouth University.
Work is due to be completed on September 1, 2023, in time for a new influx of students arriving for the new academic year.
The new building will be fitted with 206 bedrooms consisting of 178-bedroom flats arranged as a mixture of four, six, seven, eight, nine and 10-bed clusters and 28 studios.
A total of 42 kitchens will be fitted, with 28 being fitted to the studio apartments.
Also to be fitted to the new student digs is a ground floor gym, common rooms and social spaces as well as internal and external cycle storage.
There are a number of student tower blocks in Lansdowne, including Lyme Regis House in Holdenhurst Road and Purbeck House in Oxford Road.
Opposing the plan, one resident said the new accommodation would do “nothing for the town or area” and that it would “create more traffic and noisy students... Who is running the town – the council or the college/university?” he questioned.
Another resident was concerned about the size of the new student accommodation. He said: A “building of this size will dominate all of the surrounding properties as they are all so much smaller.
“I can also see issues arising from students and their visitors using our rear parking area off Western Road as a place to park.
One woman also took issue with the size of the building, saying the “bulk and height of this proposal is menacing and out of keeping with our lower and softer looking buildings.”
She was also concerned about the students who would eventually move in, saying: “The sad issue of the Grenfell Tower fire in Lodon which concerned families, has made us all more aware of fire risk.
“Young people with their relative inexperience in living outside the family, put us all more at risk.”
Attempts were made to contact the accommodation provider of the new student accommodation.
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