Dominus’s plans for revamped Stratford PBSA scheme turned down

The London Borough of Newham has refused Dominus’s plans to provide a 700-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme on Stratford High Street, E15. Dominus acquired two adjoining sites – 304 and 312 Stratford High Street – off-market from The Collective in December 2020, and 302 Stratford High Street, a non-operational pub that had been shut down by the previous owners, from a private vendor. The proposed application for the 0.6-acre site involved demolishing the existing buildings and redeveloping the site to provide a part 12-storey and part 34-storey building, providing 700 PBSA beds, 9,000 sq ft workspace, and a 1,900 sq ft pub.  London Borough of Newham refused the scheme earlier this week, siding with the recommendation of planning officers due to the site’s “excessive height, scale, massing and substandard design”. A Dominus spokesperson said: “This site, which is currently underused and adding little value to the local community, would be completely reimagined under our plans to create an inclusive and exciting new development in the heart of Stratford. “Through our engagement with our university partner Queen Mary University of London, we know that there is a huge unmet demand for student accommodation in the area. “Our proposals would deliver this alongside a not-for-profit community pub, affordable workspace and new and enhanced public realm, to ensure the neighbourhood flourishes in the long term. “We will now be liaising with our project partners to establish our next steps.” Dominus had previously received consent on the same site in 2022 for a smaller scheme providing 435-bed PBSA. In the previous scheme 35% of the proposed beds would be affordable, with 24 wheelchair-accessible rooms and 23 adaptable rooms. It also included 8,500 sq ft of workspace – 50% of which will be affordable – at ground and first-floor levels.  Dominus instructed Knight Frank to source a funding partner for the scheme in 2022. Check out more planning decisions in the London Borough of Newham >>