Proposals for new out-of-town student accommodation close to Famouth University’s Penryn Campus have been unveiled.
There will also be capacity at the mixed-use brownfield site for a new Penryn health centre, modern employment space and, prospectively, innovation hubs to assist the growth of the local knowledge-based economy.
The proposed out-of-town scheme has been designed in response to local residents’ concerns regarding the increased demand for student housing located within the town centres of Falmouth and Penryn.
The purpose-built student accommodation would form a part of a South Kernick master plan and be within walking distance of the Penryn Campus.
And to move quickly, the proposal sets out a plan to use shipping containers and transforming them locally into “architecturally designed, vibrant and stylish” accommodation.
Project manager, Andy Cook, from Irregular Cornwall, the company behind the development, is confident the development would provide a strong alternative to student housing in Falmouth and as well as creating a significant number of local jobs.
He said: “We’re excited to be creating a local solution to the pressures of student accommodation. The number of students is going to rise – the cap has already been raised by Cornwall Council – so there needs to be a fast and practical solution that deals with local people’s objections to in town development and which protects the beautiful greenfield surroundings.
“We want to move quickly to stem the loss of houses that could be used for local families as well as revitalising redundant brownfield and similar to such as land based casinos.”
A planning application has submitted to Cornwall Council and if approved quickly, say the developers, work could start in September, with students moving in as early as September 2018.
