Southampton council has approved a big new Build To Rent scheme on the site of a disused gasworks.

Hawkstone Properties Ltd and SGN Place want a 384-unit BTR scheme featuring 186 one-bed and 198 two-bed flats, with 176 on-site car parking spaces. Private balconies would be included with 264 of the flats.

The residential blocks will range from eight to 17 storeys high, with commercial units on the ground floor including a café/restaurant and a convenience store and ancillary facilities with co-working spaces, meeting rooms, roof top gardens, bicycle workshops and dog washing facilities. 

The open space which wraps around the rear of the site will be open to the public.

Savills has advised on the scheme and a statement from the company says it has been designed “to reflect the industrial heritage of the site and will use parts of the gas holders within the design and landscaping.”

Bryony Stala – a director in Savills central south planning team in Southampton – says: “These much-needed homes for the long-term rental market will offer stability and security for tenants. The scheme also delivers wider social value, providing a catalyst for development in the area to enable the creation of a community, which will in turn help support the commercial aspects of the scheme.”