Blount Street, London

At Blount Street in Tower Hamlets, Maddox Planning secured planning permission at appeal for a purpose-built student accommodation scheme where a central issue was whether the site should instead be used to deliver conventional housing.

The planning challenge

The proposal sought to redevelop a highly accessible urban site for purpose-built student accommodation. Tower Hamlets refused planning permission, taking the position that the site represented an opportunity for conventional residential development and that its use for student accommodation would therefore conflict with the borough’s housing objectives.

This created a wider planning question about how PBSA should be considered in the context of London’s acute housing pressures. The case required more than demonstrating demand for student accommodation. It was necessary to establish how specialist student housing forms part of the wider housing market and why its delivery did not simply represent the loss of an opportunity to provide conventional homes.

Our approach

Maddox Planning led the planning strategy and appeal case. We examined the relevant development plan policies and housing evidence and set out the relationship between demand for student accommodation, the supply of conventional housing and the particular characteristics of the site.

A key part of the case was demonstrating that increasing the supply of dedicated student accommodation can relieve pressure elsewhere in the housing market. Where students cannot access suitable purpose-built accommodation, demand is displaced into conventional private rented housing, including homes that could otherwise accommodate other households. PBSA therefore needed to be assessed as part of the wider picture of housing need and supply rather than treated in isolation from it.

The appeal also required consideration of whether conventional housing represented a realistic and preferable alternative for the site. Maddox Planning brought these strands together into a clear policy and planning case supporting the proposed use.

The outcome

The appeal was allowed and planning permission secured for the student accommodation development.

Blount Street demonstrates the importance of considering PBSA within the wider operation of London’s housing market. In areas facing competing demands for limited land, the planning question is not simply whether a site could provide conventional housing, but how different forms of accommodation can contribute to meeting housing needs collectively and making efficient use of well-connected urban land.

Knowledge journey

In plain English

What is PBSA? explains what purpose-built student accommodation is, how it differs from other forms of housing and the main planning considerations that apply.

Article

Borough PBSA targets and planning risk examines why the Draft London Plan should improve policy certainty without removing the need for careful site selection and planning judgement.

Deeper reading

Why student accommodation still matters to London’s housing crisis explores how PBSA contributes to housing supply and why it remains an important part of wider housing policy.

Principal authoritative sources

National Planning Policy Framework, August 2026

Planning Practice Guidance: Housing needs of different groups

Housing Delivery Test measurement rule book, August 2026

Planning Practice Guidance: Housing supply and delivery

London Plan Policy H15: Purpose-built student accommodation

GLA Purpose-built Student Accommodation London Plan Guidance