Student flats plan for former McDonald's approved

The building has stood vacant since the restaurant closed on 30 June 2023

Plans to turn a former McDonald's in Nottingham city centre into student flats have been approved.

The building, on the corner of St Peters Gate and Exchange Walk, has stood vacant since the restaurant closed on 30 June 2023 after 34 years.

Applicant Albere Rouach submitted a planning application to convert the first and second floors into flats, and to build an extension to create a third storey in December last year.

Nottingham City Council gave the plans the green light on Friday, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The ground floor of the building will be retained for retail use

The building will now be transformed to create 16 student bedspaces across five flats.

The ground floor will be retained for retail use with a new shopfront, the LDRS said.

Building works will also include a designated entrance to the student accommodation, external extraction ducting and new windows.

There will also be repairs to the building's facade and cycle storage to cater for 16 bicycles.

According to the LDRS, bat boxes will be installed on the roof as part of ecological efforts.

Christopher Youma said the site was in a "great location for students"

Christopher Youma, 21, who studies at Nottingham Trent University, said he had "mixed feelings" about the development.

He said: "This is a great location for students as there are shops and businesses nearby, and it's in the middle of the city centre, but do we need more accommodation?

"When [students] leave for the holidays, areas of the city become derelict, and that could happen here."

The BBC previously reported that the city council had approved 60 purpose built student accommodation blocks in the past decade.

City resident Natalia Dubiel said she could "think of a thousand more ideas" for the building

Student Kim Poblap, 19, said she thought repurposing the building would help to "improve" the area.

"The students living here will spend money at local businesses and bring more people to the area," she added.

"I think it will help revive this part of the city."

But city resident Natalia Dubiel, 33, thinks the site should be used for other purposes.

She said: "I can think of a thousand more ideas that would be better than student flats, the building doesn't even look spacious enough for flats.

"What about a community space for artists and other people to hire out, like they have in Sneinton Market?

"We need spaces that will encourage people to explore the area."

As part of Section 106 agreement, the developer will make a contribution of £26,010 with £21,029 towards public space improvements and £4,981 to support local employment and training during construction.