A conservation body in Nottingham has raised objections to plans for demolishing a Victorian-era building and constructing a five-storey student housing development in its place. The proposal, due to be reviewed at a meeting on Wednesday 22 April, involves clearing the former Willbond bathroom outlet on Ilkeston Road to make way for 109 bedrooms. The existing two-floor premises stands at the crossroads of Ilkeston Road and Bright Street, and the Nottingham Civic Society has highlighted concerns about the dwindling number of Victorian commercial properties surviving in the vicinity.

The scheme would incorporate gym facilities and communal areas at ground level, according to the plans. The campaign group, committed to preserving the city’s historical identity, has spoken out against the demolition of the Victorian-era structure, which holds designated status on the local heritage inventory due to its architectural importance. The Nottingham Civic Society remarked that these properties were acknowledged for their design elements, including dentilated string courses and sash windows, and were subsequently approved for inclusion on Nottingham’s Local List. They constitute a declining stock of pre-1900 properties along Ilkeston Road and could potentially have formed part of a more thoughtfully designed renovation and extension project. The organisation further disputed the height initially put forward by the developers, which comprised six storeys. According to the society, this would have resulted in the building towering over the neighbouring three-storey Victorian elevation on Bright Street, negatively affecting the area’s streetscape.

Nevertheless, a council planning officer verified that outline consent for the scheme, including demolition, has already been granted, and the proposed height has been scaled back from six storeys. Nottingham City Council noted that the location occupies an area that has undergone considerable transformation recently and is now characterised by a significant cluster of Purpose Built Student Accommodation, largely owing to its closeness to the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus. Planning documents state that this reduction produces a more fitting scale transition between the period properties on Bright Street and the existing five-storey student housing block immediately to the west. Although the scheme features a flat roof with parapet rather than the neighbouring student accommodation’s hipped roof, the adjusted height enables the parapet to sit more harmoniously with the surrounding roofline. Along with a minor variation in the building’s alignment along Ilkeston Road, the modified scale is considered to integrate more successfully with its surroundings and mitigate the Civic Society’s concerns regarding visual impact. The developer will not be required to contribute more than £2.3 million towards community enhancements via Section 106 obligations, as an assessment concluded the scheme was not financially viable for further contributions.