Former U+I chief executive Richard Upton has lodged plans for a £140m student accommodation-led scheme at Moulsecoomb Place in Brighton.
The scheme, from Upton’s Cathedral, would see the existing student accommodation on Lewes Road demolished and replaced with 566 rooms across four buildings, ranging from four to 15 storeys. There would also be community and commercial space and public realm improvements.
The listed manor house and the barn would be converted and used by Moulsecoomb Social Club, with a pub and restaurant also added to the site.
Speaking to EG about the project last year, Upton said it would be “an exemplar project that finishes a collection of exemplar projects in Brighton”. At U+I, he helped to oversee projects in the city including the mixed-use Circus Street scheme and the redevelopment of Preston Barracks.
In planning documents, architect Studio Egret West noted that Moulsecoomb is “in the top 10 most deprived wards in the country”. Pointing to Circus Street and Preston Barracks, it added: “Cathedral wishes to stand on the shoulders of that history of successful intervention with another exemplar approach to regeneration.”
Since being lodged in late December the plans have attracted several objections from local residents over the effect on the listed property as well as the height of the proposed scheme.
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