New 28-storey tower blocks could create 1,500 student rooms in Salford

Plans have been shared to build two 28-storey tower blocks for student accommodation in Salford.

This would see the demolition of the existing John Lester and Eddie Colman Courts which were built in the 1960s, located near Salford Precinct.

The existing towers, owned by Campus Living Villages, house more than 700 students, but the facilities are ‘dated’ and ‘unable to provide the quality of accommodation expected by students’ according to a planning statement.

The proposed new block could provide a total of 1,585 bedrooms across two blocks, with communal areas, and bike and refuse stores on the ground floor.

Parking spaces for a total of 59 cars are included in the plans, accessed from Meyrick Road to the north. Public transport is expected to be the predominant mode of travel for most tenants, with the proposed site situated close to a number of bus routes and Salford Crescent Train Station.

The existing tower blocks have more than 100 car parking spaces, but this ‘exceeds the existing demand’, according to the planning report.

The main entrance for pedestrians is planned through a new reception at the corner of Meyrick Road and Belvedere Road, linking to routes to the university campus and Pendleton Town Centre.

The developer hopes the plans will ‘revitalise’ the area and provide an ‘enhanced and improved offering of much-needed student bedrooms’ for the University of Salford.

A previous plan to refurbish the existing towers with the addition of a third building was withdrawn, after ‘negative feedback about the layout of the proposals and impact on amenity.’

The proposed new buildings would see 810 bedrooms in block A, and up to up to 675 rooms in block B with a second six-story wing housing an extra 100 beds.