Latest news with #studentaccommodation
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Plans for Cork student accommodation on site of former Magdalene laundry put on hold
Plans for a large new student accommodation facility with 957 bed spaces on the site of a former convent, orphanage and Magdalene laundry in Cork city have been placed on hold following several objections to the project. An Coimisiún Pleanála has received four separate appeals against the recent decision of Cork City Council to grant planning permission for 274 student apartments in a large-scale residential development on lands of the former Good Shepherd Convent on Convent Avenue, Sunday's Well in the north-west of the city. Advertisement They include objections from the community representative group, Blarney Street & Surrounding Areas Community Association. The proposed development by Bellmount Good Shepherd Limited – which is owned by developer brothers, Padraig and Seamus Kelleher – on a 3.57-hectare site will consist of eight student accommodation apartment blocks ranging in height from 3 to 5 storeys. A separate three-story mixed-use building is also planned with shops on the ground floor and student accommodation on the upper floors. The proposed works involve the partial demolition, conservation and redevelopment as well as extension of the former Good Shepherd Convent buildings. Advertisement It is planned that the existing Gate Lodge will be converted to operate as a café and provide co-working space. Most of the buildings on the site are now derelict and have suffered extensive fire damage with all floors, roofs and interior finishes destroyed as a result of a series of fires, including one in April 2025. The convent, which opened in 1870, was closed by the Good Shepherd Sisters order in 1977. University College Cork had planned to use the former convent and its lands for a new campus in the 1990s before abandoning the project. Advertisement Figures collated by Justice for Magdalenes Research show the names and of 195 women and girls who died at the Good Shepherd laundry were recorded. One of the conditions imposed by Cork City Council in its decision to grant planning permission for the student accommodation facility stipulates that all construction work on the site should stop if any human remains are found. In its appeal, the Blarney Street & Surrounding Areas Community Association said it understood the need for student housing but it had serious concerns about the suitability of the specific proposal and location. The group's chairperson, Tom Coleman, claimed the proposal represents overdevelopment of the site and would be out of character with the surrounding area. Advertisement He said locals were concerned that the facility would result in increased noise levels, particularly during evenings and weekends. 'This does nothing to improve social cohesion or foster a sense of long-term community, which is meant to be one of the stated priorities of Cork City Council's development strategy,' said Mr Coleman. He pointed out the area already suffered from total gridlock, while the assumption that all students would use sustainable forms of transport meant the provision for private car use was 'grossly understated.' The group claimed the proposed development would result in hundreds of additional car journeys every week in an already congested residential area which could also impede access for emergency services. Advertisement Another appellant, Jurek Kirakowski, said it made no sense to create a large student centre on the northside of the Lee when the two main third-level institutions in Cork were mostly located south of the river. Another objector, Martin Krase, said the fact that none of the previous permissions to develop the site had been acted on showed it was neither suitable nor viable for a large-scale development. Mr Krase called on the council and the State to earmark a repurposing of the site through consultation with local communities which would take into account its 'unique and important history.' He claimed there was a need to respect and not just pay lip-service to 'the nationally recognised horrors of the mother and baby home.' Ireland Planners refuse permission for 650 new homes on ou... Read More However, Bellmount said the proposed development, which is planned to be constructed over five phases, would deliver much needed new development of purpose-built student accommodation within Cork City. 'The proposed development will see student accommodation provided in a location that is very accessible to high-level education campuses by means of walking, cycling and public transport,' the company stated. It added: 'The development will contribute to a mixed and inclusive neighbourhood by way of layout and shared amenity uses.' A ruling on the various appeals is due by early November 2025.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- BBC News
Oxford attempted murder investigation after man stabbed
An attempted murder inquiry has been launched after a man in his twenties was Valley Police (TVP) said officers responded to a call by South Central Ambulance Service to attend an incident in James Wolfe Road in Oxford, Oxfordshire, at about 19:00 BST on force said the victim remained in hospital "in a serious but stable condition".It added that a "scene watch" was in place at an independent student accommodation. "At this time, we believe this was an isolated incident and offender and victim are known to each other," TVP said in a added: "We would like to thank the local community for their cooperation while we investigate this incident; if anyone has concerns, please feel free to speak to officers in the area." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Student accommodation: Just 116 of 1,000 ‘emergency response' beds will be delivered this year
Just over 100 student beds out of more than 1,000 identified under an 'emergency response' to student accommodation shortages are to be delivered for the coming academic year, an Oireachtas committee has heard. The short-term activation programme was one of several initiatives approved in 2022 to stimulate the development of new student accommodation. Described as an 'emergency response' at the time, it aimed to build student accommodation that already had planning permission but it couldn't proceed due to the high cost of construction. Some €100 million was allocated from 2024 to 2026 to fund the 1,016 beds at Maynooth University, Dublin City University (DCU) and University College Dublin (UCD). READ MORE However, a committee meeting on Tuesday evening heard that just 116 are on track to be delivered for Maynooth this year. A 2015 Higher Education Authority report estimated there was an unmet demand of about 25,000 beds Sinn Féin TD Donna McGettigan, who said students are under 'severe stress' due to accommodation challenges, described the 116 beds as 'just not good enough.' 'How long is it going to take to put in the 1,000 beds if you're only at 116 in one year?' she said. Paul Lemass, assistant secretary at the Department of Higher Education said: 'It has been a challenging process in a very high inflationary context to get the kind of movement that we would have hoped on the short-term programme but we have 116 beds that will be ready for September.' Construction is yet to begin on the beds for DCU and UCD, the committee heard. A 2015 Higher Education Authority report estimated there was an unmet demand of about 25,000 beds, with key drivers being rising student numbers and a large demand for international student places. While output was tracking 'quite well' until the pandemic, with almost 10,000 beds provided until the end of 2020, 'completions dropped significantly in the post-Covid period,' Mr Lemass said. 'Clearly developers looking at Covid got a shock and then no sooner was Covid over, they got a second shock through Ukraine and the cost of living and inflation. So we have undoubtedly been set back,' he said. 'Frankly, we have struggled to recover,' he said. Asked what the unmet student bed need was now, Mr Lemass said the department is in the process of modelling the figure out to 2035. The committee heard there is currently about 49,000 purpose-built student accommodation beds across the country, 16,000 of which are publicly owned. 'We absolutely recognise that there's a shortfall in accommodation,' Mr Lemass said. Separately, Mr Lemass told committee members the department expects approximately 1,800 beds to return to the student accommodation sector this year. The beds were previously used to accommodate international protection applicants and Ukrainian refugees and are expected to return to the sector following a recent review of accommodation contracts by the Department of Children. While there was a need for flexibility, 'given pressures in other sectors', Mr Lemass acknowledged it was 'very disappointing' when properties are taken out of the student accommodation sector for other purposes.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Student flats landlord 'broke and living with parents'
A property entrepreneur who operated student accommodation blocks in Bradford is now penniless and living with his mother, a court has been Chohan had been the director of numerous companies, including London-based B&M Properties which ran two apartment buildings on Laisteridge at a Bradford Magistrates' Court hearing on Monday morning it emerged that Chohan, 58, of Middlebrook Way, currently has no income after being declared bankrupt in was in court over a charge, that he had previously admitted, of failing to supply gas and hot water for two buildings in the student village complex. The offence dates back to 2021, the latest hearing was the 13th time Chohan's case has been listed in court, according to the Local Democracy Reporting was due to be sentenced, but a judge agreed to adjourn until September due to Chohan not being able to afford legal charge relates to an alleged failure to comply with an order to "restore the gas supply to All Saints Hall and Trinity B Hall at Laisteridge Lane Student Village to ensure the satisfactory supply of hot water to the kitchen and bathroom facilities to the buildings".It covers a period between 13 May 2021 and 1 October 2021 and the prosecution was brought by Bradford Council. At Monday's hearing Recorder Mark McKone was told that the case has so far cost the taxpayer £7, sentence imposed will likely be a fine, which the court heard would be based on Chohan's Walsh, prosecuting, said the council acknowledged Chohan had no significant asked why he was unrepresented, Chohan said he could no longer afford to pay for a had approached numerous law firms in the city, but they declined to take the case as they felt it was either too complicated or doubted he would be eligible for legal told the court he no longer had his properties in how he was surviving on no income, Chohan said: "I'm living at my parents' house, I don't pay any bills."My mother has various health issues and I'm caring for her."The judge asked why he had not applied for benefits, and he replied: "I've been applying for jobs. I'll do anything, if I have to, I'll work at Tesco. I'm applying for jobs but I've been told I'm not qualified."Mrs Walsh suggested that a further adjournment would likely take the total costs to around £8, Walsh told the court: "Had this case been dealt with at an earlier stage, without all these adjournments, the fine would have been higher, as Chohan's businesses would still have been operating."The case was adjourned until 12 September and Chohan was told he would be sentenced on that day whether he had legal representation or not. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Irish Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Student accommodation developer challenges decision to rezone land near UCD to open space
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council's decision to rezone lands owned by a student accommodation developer from residential to open space was done for valid planning reasons, the High Court has been told. The council made the argument in defending an action brought by developer Colbeam Ltd, which is challenging the local authority's 2022-2028 county development plan arising from the rezoning decision. Colbeam has sought to build a 698-bed student accommodation complex at Our Lady's Grove, Goatstown Road, Dublin 14, which is about 850 metres from University College Dublin (UCD). The developer previously secured planning permission from An Coimisiún Pleanála for the development, but this decision was quashed following a separate, successful High Court challenge. READ MORE Colbeam had bought the site in 2017 from the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary for €13 million. The land – which had been part of a wider campus that includes Our Lady's Grove primary and secondary school – was zoned residential under the council's 2016-2022 county development plan, which was in effect at the time of the purchase, Colbeam has said. But before adopting the 2022-2028 county development plan, councillors adopted motions to rezone Colbeam's land from residential to open space. On Thursday, David Browne SC, for the council, said councillors adopted motions to rezone primarily for planning-based reasons. These included consideration for open space at the Our Lady's Grove campus and concerns about incremental development on that space. Colbeam has argued that councillors had regard for 'irrelevant consideration' in adopting the motions to rezone. But Mr Browne said that if the principal reason for the rezoning decision was a planning one then that was a valid decision. Mr Brown said certain remarks made by councillors in debating the rezoning motions were indicative of 'marginal' considerations in the decision to rezone and should not invalidate the decision. On Wednesday, Neil Steen SC, for Colbeam, had argued that councillors had regard for 'irrelevant consideration' in adopting the motions to rezone. One of these irrelevant considerations arose from purported comments made at the meeting by Fine Gael councillor Barry Saul, one of the members who initially proposed to rezone the land. In advancing the argument to rezone the lands, Cllr Saul referred to 'a failure of moral obligation' on the part of the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary to maintain a required level of open space on their lands, Mr Steen said. The open space requirement arose from an 'institutional land' designation. Mr Steen said Mr Saul made it explicit that part of his intention in supporting the rezoning was to address this 'failure'. Counsel said moral obligation was an irrelevant consideration in the decision to rezone. Mr Steen said his clients were entitled under legislation to a decision uncontaminated by irrelevant considerations. He said if the court found councillors took an irrelevant consideration into account in making the decision to rezone then the decision should be quashed. Mr Justice David Holland will give his ruling at later date.
