Islington Council's Planning Committee has approved plans for a two-storey roof extension at iQ Student Accommodation on Isledon Road, adding 92 new student bed spaces.
The development, which will comprise studios, also includes associated refuse storage and cycle parking facilities. Of the new bed spaces, 32 will be designated as affordable units, meeting the Local Plan policy requirement for 35% affordable accommodation.
Discussions during the committee meeting focused on the provision of affordable student rooms and nomination agreements, ensuring that the accommodation will only be occupied by students from higher education providers. University College London has expressed a preference for flexibility in allocating affordable beds across the development.
The design of the extension was noted as being of high quality, mirroring the curvature of the existing building and featuring a pearlescent finish. The extension is set back to ensure it is subordinate to the host building and to minimise amenity impacts.
Concerns were raised regarding minor daylight losses to some existing student rooms, but the committee noted that the average daylight loss across the whole building would be 3.1%. Energy and sustainability measures were also discussed, with the proposal largely policy compliant, including a reduction in regulated emissions of 41% against the 2021 baseline. The development will achieve a BREEAM rating of 'excellent', an urban greening factor of 0.23, and a biodiversity net gain of 64.5%.
The committee approved the application, subject to amended conditions regarding tree planting and further greening opportunities, and a Section 106 legal agreement.