Derwent Wins Approval for 417-Room Student Building in London

Derwent London Plc won planning permission for a 417-room student housing project in the capital as a shortage of accommodation prompts developers to expand.

The Tower Hamlets borough in east London approved the construction of a 19-story student building and an office block with 26,500 square feet (2,500 square meters) of space, Derwent said in an e-mailed statement today.

A rising student population is encouraging developers to add rooms in London. Unite Group Plc, the U.K.’s largest student accommodation provider, last week said it received a 66 million- pound ($106 million) loan from Barclays Plc to finance a 671-bed development near the River Thames. Blackstone Group LP, the world’s biggest private equity company, this year completed a 33-story dormitory in the City of London financial district.

Derwent’s project was designed by architects Buckley Gray Yeoman and includes a top-floor “sky lounge” as well as a gym and study areas.

“Buckley Gray Yeoman’s design for student housing is at a high and improved standard for this sector and will benefit the immediate location,” Simon Silver, Derwent’s head of strategic regeneration for London, said in the statement.

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