Student flats to be built on site of former Blue Coyote lap dancing club in Merrion Street

Plans to build a new block of student flats on the site of a former lap dancing club in Leeds city centre have been approved. Pictured is a CGI of what the site would look like.

The new student scheme would be built at 26-43 Merrion Street in what was once a bar and nightclub

It was home to the Blue Coyote lap dancing nightclub for several years, then it was later a bar known as Mayaimi.

Leeds City Council put the site up for sale for £575,000 in 2016 and in 2017, it was was set to become the Merrion Street Sky Bar - a mixed use development will feature a bar, restaurant and rooftop sky bar.

The site has been vacant for a while but was formerly Mayami and the Blue Coyote lap dancing club.

At the time developers said it would offer impressive views across the city, with outside seating and a dining area in the sky bar, while the venue would also boast a ground floor bar and restaurant, and two dedicated floors of office space.

The Merrion Street Sky Bar did not open.

Now the site is set to become a development of 88 high specification studio apartments with associated amenities.

The scheme has been designed by Brewster Bye Architects for developer Urban Developments (York) Ltd. The part five, part seven and part nine storey building, will be delivered under the developer’s ‘Engage’ student brand. Work is due to start this summer and the scheme will be ready for occupation by 2024.

All 88 studios will have en-suites and the new building will also include a lounge, gym, study rooms, a cinema room and laundry facilities for residents.

Four of the studios are accessible and there are two larger premium studios. The development will also include a staffed reception area and 23 cycle spaces.

Nick Gould, from Urban Developments (York) Ltd, said: “We have worked closely with the owner of the site, Mahmood Mazhar, to find a viable use for this vacant plot, which sits between the city’s universities and key retail areas.

"The scale, form and position of the building were all praised in the planning officer’s report, which stated that it would enhance the conservation area, as well as providing much needed student accommodation and local employment opportunities during construction and the subsequent operation as a student scheme.”

Mark Henderson, from Brewster Bye Architects, said: “This is the second purpose build student accommodation scheme we have designed and successfully achieved planning for with Urban under the Engage brand, following the approval of a large-scale development in Nottingham city centre.

“It’s a great location for students, in the very heart of Leeds, and our design sees the building step down in height and complement the surrounding streetscape.

"With ground floor glazing that creates an attractive and continuous street frontage on Merrion Street, our scheme will mirror the frontage of neighbouring The Merrion Project and really add to this part of the city centre.”

A number of student developments have been built in the past 10 years in Leeds - and plans for more have been submitted to the council.

Next door to the 26-34 Merrion Street development will be another block of student flats on the site of the former Santander office.

Rush to build student accommodation ‘worrying’, claims councillor

Built by HG Constuction and SCAPE, the the building will top 100m high and provide 693 bedrooms. The second block will be 11 storeys high.

At the time, planning chiefs described the designs as “iconic”, “beautiful” and “absolutely gorgeous”.

Round the corner from both developments, there are plans to build 1,200 new student flats and an event space in the old Yorkshire Bank headquarters.

Downing has submitted a planning application for a major mixed use scheme on the site on Merrion Way and Clay Pit Lane.

The proposals comprise 1,200 student bedrooms, across two of buildings of 38 and 17-storeys respectively, including a mixture of five and six-bed cluster flats with shared living/dining spaces and individual studio units, along with a range of accessible bedrooms.

The submission also seeks outline consent for a new multi-purpose events space. If approved, the plans will also pave the way for the creation of a 9,940 square metre facility used for exhibitions, banqueting, standing and seated entertainment events.

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