Student accommodation plans for old concrete site

Accomodation for hundreds of students could be built on the site of a city's former concrete plant.

Salamisso Developments has applied to Newcastle City Council to build a student accommodation block on the old Cemex works on Pottery Lane.

Ranging between four and eight storeys, the block would house 405 bedrooms split across 152 studio flats and 253 larger flats with shared kitchen, dining and living facilities.

The development, known as The Arches, would also include a cafe, study areas, a gym, a games area and a cinema room, council documents show.

The former Cemex site has previously been earmarked for housing but plans did not materialise, according to the Local Democracy Reporting service.

The developers said the accommodation would help "meet the growing demand from Newcastle's student population".

"The proposed scheme will contribute positively to the regeneration of this brownfield site within the Forth Yards, support the city's higher education institutions and enhance the vitality of Newcastle city centre," planning documents said.

The wider Forth Yards area has long been earmarked by Newcastle City Council as a regeneration zone, with hopes of developing around 2,500 new homes over the coming decades.

A decision will be made by the city council in due course.

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