Flats to replace buildings where cannabis factories found

A computer image shows the plans for 119-122 High Street and 55-59 Castle Way in Southampton

Two derelict city centre buildings, which were once used as cannabis factories, will be destroyed to make way for student accommodation.

Southampton City Council approved plans for a 250-room student housing scheme at the site, which was raided by police in 2021.

Vacant three-storey and four-storey buildings fronting Southampton High Street and a former snooker hall on the Castle Way side will be bulldozed.

The applicant, Big Sur, said the work "would introduce an active frontage back into the street scene on two city centre streets".

A former snooker hall on Castle Way is one of the buildings to be bulldozed

It added it would "contribute a significant amount of student accommodation which has been demonstrated as an identified need within the city”.

Plans would see the creation of a five to six-storey main block with 249 student bedrooms in a mix of cluster flats, studios and accessible flats alongside a second smaller three-storey complex for eight student bedrooms.

The Old Town Community Forum objected to the proposal, with particular issues over the density of the scheme, the long-term viability of student housing and the design of the buildings.

One of the buildings to be replaced is the site of the former Castle Snooker Club, which first opened in 1970.

The factories included fully grown plants and saplings

Police found 1,782 cannabis plants in the disused commercial buildings at 57-59 Castle Way and 119-122 High Street in 2021.

The value of both factories, which included fully grown plants and saplings, was estimated at £3.8m.

Empty pots were also discovered, indicating a previous crop which had already been harvested.