LSE given green light for student accommodation in Glengall Rd

A scheme to provide new accommodation, just off Old Kent Road, for students at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) was approved by Southwark Council’s planning committee this morning.

The new halls of residence, planned for the site of the old Bianca warehouse at 43 Glengall Road, will deliver 676 student rooms alongside a commercial creative centre and cafe.

The commercial creative centre will be operated by LSE Generate which champions outreach programmes in local communities. This will provide a direct benefit to the area, helping to make the university sector more accessible to a wider section of the population.

The LSE will also use the new building for other university and community purposes.

The halls of residence, which has been designed in a stepped configuration, up to 15 storeys in height, will provide accommodation to students studying at the university’s main campus in Aldwych, just a short 30 minute bus ride away.

LSE, the prestigious London university founded in 1895, has strong links with Southwark and already has student accommodation and teaching facilities in the borough. The Glengall Road site will mainly be for post-graduate students and the university intends to provide all the rooms at discounted rents including at least 35 per cent at affordable rents.

Southwark Council’s plans for Old Kent Road also include two new primary schools, a new secondary school and a new college or university.

Find out more about the benefits of regenerating Old Kent Road

Approval for the LSE scheme was granted subject to referral to the Mayor of London and a recording of today’s Planning Committee will be made available on the council’s YouTube channel.