Another Aberdeen hotel will be turned into student flats to spare the huge building from sitting empty.
The Travelodge on Justice Mill Lane will be transformed under a scheme which developers say will breathe new life into the city centre.
The seven-storey building will become accommodation for 107 students when Travelodge moves out.
Following the council’s approval, the hotel is expected to be handed over this autumn.
It comes just days after plans to transform the Hilton Garden Inn just off George Street into student flats were approved.
How will Aberdeen Travelodge become student flats?
The Travelodge opened in 2010, but struggled since the oil downturn and became untenable when the pandemic hit.
The plans to secure it a different future emerged last September, with developer Balfe Ltd stepping in.
Originally the firm wanted to fill every room, putting up 128 students.
But in the course of talks with the council, that has been reduced to 107 – with some hotel rooms being turned into space for studying and socialising.
Each studio apartment will have an en-suite bathroom, desk area and kitchenette.
And the basement will be transformed to offer a laundry, cinema room, gym and dining area.
But does Aberdeen need more student flats?
Homes for Students, which will operate the site, says purpose-built student accommodation is “in a strong position as lockdown restrictions ease”.
Their research indicates that “demand has remained strong over recent years for well priced, centrally located accommodation”.
And the firm said its Powis Place and Fraser Studios complexes in Aberdeen, offering a combined 372 beds, achieve annual occupancy rates of more than 97%.
In 2019/20 there was a total of 27,845 Aberdeen University and Robert Gordon University students in the city.
But the number of beds supplied between private providers and the universities was only 8,841 – enough to house less than a third of them.
Could Bardots karaoke singers disrupt studies?
Studies were also performed looking into noise levels from nearby nightspots such as O’Donoghues and Bardots.
The council states that, for the flats facing Justice Mill Lane, “noise limits” are exceeded with the windows open at night.
That means air conditioning will need to be installed in the affected rooms.
Ultimately, Aberdeen council planning bosses decided that turning the Travelodge into student flats will enhance “the viability and vitality of the city centre”.
As well as the Hilton Garden Inn scheme now going ahead, the Bauhaus hotel just a stone’s throw away on Justice Mill Lane has already been turned into student flats.
You can see the Travelodge plans here.
