Southampton Bargate: Student block removed from scheme

The £100m scheme would incorporate Southampton's medieval Bargate

A developer's bid to remove student accommodation from a £100m city centre development has been approved by council planners.

Tellon Capital applied in November to change the Bargate project beside part of Southampton's medieval walls.

It has added 135 extra flats and a hotel after the revisions were approved by Southampton City Council.

Building work is due to start next year and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2022.

Flats and a hotel would be built beside the old city walls

The project, which began in 2017 with the phased demolition of Bargate shopping centre, was originally due to finish this year.

The new scheme includes 287 flats, shops and an open boulevard to make a feature of the medieval walls.

Council leader Christopher Hammond told the Local Democracy Report Service: "The changes put forward improve the scheme and I doubt that anyone will object to one less student block in the city."

A fragment of a plate featuring a bare-chested woman and a cannon ball were among items found during an archaeological dig

City of Southampton Society said it was disappointed the revisions had been approved by council officers without a meeting of elected members.

Spokesman Simon Reynier said the conservation body was concerned about the profile of the buildings, which range from four to 12 storeys high, as well as the "viability of more restaurants, cafes and shops in the city centre".

In a statement, the council said the revised scheme was not brought back before members because it was "broadly the same as the earlier application".

A fragment of a plate featuring a bare-chested woman and a cannon ball were among items found during a dig by archaeologists at the site in February.