URW to build student housing and community space at Westfield Stratford
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has been granted planning consent to create student housing and a community space on the Westfield Stratford City car park roof.
The development was unanimously approved at a planning committee on 23 July, with the committee welcoming a sustainable approach to development.
Once complete, the development is set to provide 520 student beds, as well as a 30,000 sq ft publicly accessible roof top park space for leisure, sport and play. Students are also set to benefit from over 16,000 sq ft of dedicated amenity space throughout the building.
The new scheme forms part of URW’s mixed-use strategy and has been designed in line with the company’s Better Places roadmap. Key design elements include utilising the existing structure and foundations, whilst the accommodation will be serviced by existing utilities to ensure energy efficiency.
Scott Parsons, chief operating officer of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said: “Delivering a high-quality, sustainable design that provides genuine community benefit was an important part of this process and something our team worked closely with local stakeholders and consultation groups on.
“Despite a number of student homes having been delivered in the area in recent years, there is a pressing need for more high-quality and affordable student beds as Stratford continue to grow as one of London’s best regeneration zones, particularly with the arrival of UCL and London College of Fashion, UAL at the East Bank. I am delighted our scheme will meet this critical need, while also having a positive impact on the wider community by creating another accessible, free space where people can enjoy spending time.”