Our Kempston Street Project has gone in for planning consent!

Head over to Place North West to see the full article.

Find below an extract from the article.

The developer has submitted plans for 70 apartments on Kempston Street in the Fabric District.

If approved, the project will see a half-acre plot developed, with the accommodation spread across two blocks. There will be 30 one-bed homes and 40 two-bedroom, with no studios or student accommodation.

The 63,600 sq ft development, designed by Liverpool-based Studio RBA, also includes a 10,000 sq ft residents’ roof garden, 4,750 sq ft of shared courtyard space, two residents’ lounges and a mix of ground floor commercial units totalling 3,615 sq ft.

AWK Engineers is the structural engineer for the development, with Highways Advice the transport planner.

“This has been a genuinely collaborative effort with the council’s planning team, who have helped us shape a really good scheme,” said a spokesperson for Duke Developments.

“The new local plan has been key because it provided us with certainty and clarity around issues such as unit mix and space standards. It also steered us towards the local CIC’s vision for the area, which shaped our thinking around the mix and type of workspaces in the development.”

Registered in Liverpool, Duke Developments was incorporated in 2017. Two directors are currently listed on Companies House, Ryan Robinson and Bashir Ahmed Ali Saleh.

Proximity to public transport has allowed the developer to pursue a car-free development, with 80 managed cycle spaces to be provided.

Adam Morgan, architect director at Studio RBA, said: “There’s a lot to this development with regards to how it responds to its context, but also in the way it embraces the standards demanded by the local plan.

“There was some caution around the plan initially, but based on recent experience working within its requirements it’s clear how it encourages a more thoughtful and aspirational approach to development.  We’ve brought those learnings together into this project, providing lots of active frontage and open space.

“The development links Kempston Street with Islington and connects nicely with neighbouring developments too, rather than turning its back on them.”

Duke said that the scheme is being funded by the developer’s private resources and will not use fractional selling, adding that the firm would take “a relaxed view with regards to how many units we decide to sell and how many we retain on our balance sheet for rent”.