Plans for student flats next to Bristol Road McDonald’s in Birmingham gets approval

Revised plans for a block of student flats next to the Bristol Road McDonald’s have been approved despite fears over parking and distances to the city’s universities.

The initial scheme was thrown out by city chiefs in April 2022 and labelled a ‘monstrosity’, but new proposals for a shorter, wider development were given the green light today.

Members of the Birmingham City Council planning committee disagreed on the perceived lack of parking for future inhabitants, as well as the impact the development could have on the nearby Edgbaston Conservation Area. But the scheme was passed after five votes in favour, largely from Labour councillors, outnumbered three votes for refusal from Conservative councillors.

Cllr Matt Bennett (Cons, Edgbaston) led objections at the meeting, saying: “I consider Edgbaston to be one of the great assets of this city with its conservation area and developments like this one chip away at over time.

“They also reduce the number of permanent residents and increase the number of transient residents which is not to the benefit of the area. These tall buildings are not in keeping with the listed buildings that are nearby.”

Cllr Bennett added there was ‘nowhere near’ enough parking and that the development could cause problems for residents of a nearby estate where there are no parking restrictions. Officers said students would be prohibited from having cars and anyone breaking these rules would have their tenancies terminated.

Cllr Bennett’s comments were backed up by Cllr Gareth Moore (Cons, Erdington) who said: “I don’t think this is an improvement on the previous application at all really. It’s gone from a very tall tower to a very high, dense block dominating both the McDonald’s and other residential properties nearby.”

Another objector was Edgbaston Labour MP Preet Gill, who said before the meeting she thought the development remains ‘substantially different’ to the wider area, and also that both the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University had said their students would not use this accommodation.

Meanwhile, Cllr Lee Marsham (Lab, Nechells) spoke in favour of the development, saying: “All the figures show that there is a need for more purpose-built student accommodation in our city, and it is increasingly where students rather live.

“The site offers density on the outer ring road, with several universities nearby. It has great cycling, walking and public transport links reducing the need for parking.

“It brings a vacant plot back into use, and whilst I appreciate that it is tall, it is actually a smart design and will not significantly impact nearby heritage sites.”

The development will now be 17 storeys at its highest point compared to the previous scheme’s 26 to ease concerns around scale and the effect on the conservation area. Inside would be a mixture of cluster apartments, studios, one-bed apartments, and ‘twodios’ – a flat with a shared kitchen but separate bedrooms and bathrooms.

Elsewhere in the building will be a cinema, games room, karaoke room, laundrette, lounge, dining rooms, a gym and basketball court, plant rooms, and a place to store 162 bicycles. The project would be made up of four connected blocks of eight, ten, 11 and 17 storeys respectively.

London-based developer Fusion Students had launched an appeal against the initial decision of refusal from the planning committee. Officers said it is now up to the developer if they want to continue with that inquiry following the approval of the new plan.