Plans submitted to build 400 en-suite rooms for nurses or students in Northampton

Riverside House has received outline planning permission to build up to 400 nursing or student bedrooms on surplus land to the rear.

The masterplan for developers, Barwood Capital is to build on surplus land at the rear of Riverside House on Bedford Road to provide accommodation for up to 400 en-suite rooms over two or three blocks and up to six storeys.

The accommodation will be individual en-suite bedrooms, organised in clusters of six rooms with a shared kitchen and dining space for each cluster. It will also include some ancillary support and communal space providing 'high end' accommodation for nurses working at the hospital or students.

Danielle Sheppard, investment director, Barwood Capital said: “The approval by Northamptonshire Borough Council for the 400 new rooms is a game-changer for the town.

An aerial shot of Riverside House and its land in Northampton.

"It will greatly enhance the area around an already prominent building through significant investment to build nursing or student accommodation.

"We have designed the modern living accommodation to be for either nurses at the adjoining Northampton General Hospital or suitable for student accommodation to meet the high demand for student residential premises within the town given the growth of the University.”

Barwood Capital will shortly submit a full planning application for the new accommodation, and hopes to commence construction in the next 12 months once an occupier has been agreed.

Danielle Sheppard added: “Our next steps are to submit a full application and continue discussions with the hospital and university and other student accommodation providers.

An artists impression showing the indicative scheme for the surplus land development at the rear of Riverside House to build up to 400 nursing or student bedrooms.

"We invest in commercial and residential property all over the UK outside London that enhances people’s lives whether it be for businesses and their staff or homeowners, nurses or students.

"But there’s something extra special when development plans are approved on our doorstep and you can see the positive impact these new rooms will have on people’s lives across the town and county.”

Riverside House is a one hectare site that was acquired 12 months ago for its 2015 Property Fund for £4.5 million - the site includes a 1970’s five storey office building.