Plans for 45 bedroom student accommodation at former Portstewart nursing home
Plans for new student halls of residence at the former Montague Nursing Home in Portstewart have been received by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
The nursing home, at 15 Church Street, was a long-established facility that was built in two phases between 1988/9 and 1996/7 and provided care for a maximum of 87 patients in 54 bedrooms.
Following its closure in 2012 it was most recently used as a bed and breakfast, and a recently-submitted planning application now seeks to convert the building to a 45-room, purpose-built student managed accommodation (PBSA).
An accompanying Design and Access Statement outlined plans to reconfigure the internal floorspace from the approved bed and breakfast format, with no changes to the external appearance of the building.
Additionally, a car park comprising 15 spaces and two disabled spaces will be provided along with a new cycle store.
“Full planning permission is sought to convert the applicant into a University Halls of Residence with 45 ensuite bedrooms arranged into five clusters which contain groups of 5, 6 and 7 bedrooms with shared living and kitchen accommodation,” the statement added.
“This is an accepted PBSA arrangement and avoids large and noisy communal areas.
“The applicant building will be leased to the Ulster University, and the proposal is for quality student accommodation and meets a pressing housing need.”
The statement also clarified that, as the proposed number of units sought nor the size of the site engages the threshold of a major application, no public consultation was conducted.