THE firm behind plans to turn an historic building in Henwick Road into bedroom flats for students has revealed the aim is for the scheme to be ready by summer 2020.

Student property company Purple Frog is behind the plans to build the 149-bedroom student accommodation at the YMCA in Henwick Road, which was given the green light by Worcester City Council’s planning committee at the end of June.

The plan is to transform the YMCA building into rooms for 87 students with a new building providing a further 62 bedrooms. The scheme also features a gym, a cinema room, study facilities, laundry service, communal spaces, en-suite rooms and 42 studio flats, all built with Worcester’s growing student community in mind.

Behind the original listed 1868 building, which will not be knocked down, the company plans to add a large L-shaped additional block, designing it in keeping with the main building, and also largely screened from Henwick Road.

The aim is for the entire scheme to be completed ready for University of Worcester’s 2020/21 student intake.

Patrick Garratt, Purple Frog managing director, said: "We’re delighted that we have had this development unanimously approved by Worcester City Council’s planning committee, it’s tremendously heartening to know that those in the city have seen the benefits of the project and are supporting us to see it into fruition.

"The Henwick private halls will provide the best quality accommodation to enable students to make the most of their time at the University of Worcester. "Purple Frog is excited to have the opportunity to create a thriving community of students, close to the university, optimising their time in this great city.

"Worcester is on the cusp of becoming a hive of higher education activity, but with this boost comes demand for student-specific housing, to mitigate the demand on landlords and local residents alike.

"With this in mind, Purple Frog is proud to be helping to fix this problem. We’re looking forward to meeting the demand and providing a proper level of service to the tenants, the landlords, the investors and being good neighbours within the local community."