January 24, 2013 3.13 pm This story is over 134 months old

New lease of life for unused land in Lincoln city centre

Mixed use building: A disused site off Tritton Road will have a mixed use building built on it, for offices or accommodation.
The new building could become either a hotel, offices, residential or student accommodation.

A piece of land on the corner of a busy Lincoln junction could be transformed into a modern building if approved by the City Council.

Proposals submitted to the council’s Planning Committee by estate agents Brayford Enterprise Limited detail land on the corner of Ruston Way being build on.

The company believes the empty corner unit opposite the McDonald’s on Rope Walk would be ideal for a new building that could become either a hotel, offices, residential or student accommodation.

In the original 2006 outline for the area, the land was identified as being suitable for a seven or eight storey office development.

The new building would curve around the side of the premises facing Ruston Way and Tritton Road, and be between five and seven storeys high, depending on the use.

Behind the building, there would also be parking spaces allocated for the unit’s use.

If the accommodation use is approved, the ground floors of the building could become spaces for a variety of shops and restaurants.

However, the Development Service Manager from the City Council believes that the current economic climate may suggest that offices would not be the best use of the area.

Instead, the land would suit a mid-higher end hotel, residential (with a contribution toward a playing area nearby) or student accommodation.

The proposal will go before the Planning Committee on January 30, which has recommended to approve the plans.

The plans should only be approved if the applicant makes a contribution to play space or build some affordable homes (should the unit become homes), prove the unit is not at risk of flooding, and deliver the building within five years of being approved.

The area has been subject to several developments lately, with the unit next to it currently being built on. The building, called Saul House, will be used as postgraduate student accommodation for the University of Lincoln from September 2013.