Forty-one-bed student building set for Northampton nightspot street

If plans are given the green light, White & Bishop in Bridge Street will be extended backwards to make room for 41-bed student accommodation, arranged into 18 separate flats.

But first, some existing rear extensions to the building would be removed to enable the extension to be built.

The plans say: "In terms of providing accommodation, there is a high demand for student accommodation, particularly in the town centre where existing flats and bedsits are predominantly used for open market letting.

"Bridge Street is no longer frequented by shoppers and has become a focal point for entertainment uses and for estate agents and letting agents. This reduces the attractiveness of returning the frontage to retail use due to the lack of footfall by shoppers."

The digs offer studio size accommodation enabling students to live alone or in larger flats for groups of up to three people.

It is proposed that the ground-floor would operate as a social environment with an ancillary cafe for students and visitors.

The design and access statement proposes that "side elevations would not be visible from Bridge Street, but the upper floors would be partially visible within long-distance views."