Work can finally begin on a sprawling 935-bed student halls complex that will be converted into a hotel over the holidays.

The University of Kent and St Edmund’s School announced hopes in 2020 of building hundreds of purpose-built flats, a squash centre and sports pavilion in Giles Lane, Canterbury.

City council chiefs gave the project the provisional green light in June 2021, with the final stamp of approval received last week.

Now, spades can go into the ground to make way for the development on the campus – which is expected to cost £51 million.

The university’s facilities director, Trevor Pereira, says building the 277 flats will help free up family housing in Canterbury.

“We're delighted that full planning approval has now been granted for this important project,” he told KentOnline.

“The housing pressures on the city are well known, with one of the worst student-bed ratios in the country. This proposal is an important part of our future planning, ensuring that we have appropriate, high-quality accommodation on the campus for students in the decades ahead, which will in turn help release family housing in the city.

"As per the public consultation, we are also really pleased that environmental considerations are at the heart of the plans and will remain so throughout.

“We are now working very closely with our investment and development partners to formulate detailed construction design.”

The new student halls will be arranged in five blocks ranging from three to six storeys. There will also be a replacement two-storey squash centre, pavilion, footpaths, and road improvements, including the widening of Giles Lane.

Car parking spaces, cycle lanes and green infrastructure will also be built once residential properties and an office are levelled.

A university spokesman says agreements were reached with all parties affected by the demolition works prior to the proposals being authorised.

Alex Ricketts, the councillor for Blean Forest (Lib Dem), has praised the plans and highlighted the desire to see environmentally-friendly development in the area.

“The idea was for a very sustainable development, and we need accommodation and conference facilities in the district, so for the health and life of the university I think it’s important,” he said.

“It will hopefully free up a lot of the housing that is currently being used for HMOs (houses in multiple occupations), which will mean residents will benefit from this possible new supply of housing.

“Our universities are a huge part of the local economy and, as a district, we want to encourage students to stay and make their life work here in the area after their studies.”

Reaching heights of six storeys, the central bulk of the student accommodation will be converted into a hotel offering 240 beds and conference facilities during holiday time.

Alongside 144 cluster flats – meaning shared accommodation – there will be 132 studios and one double-bed unit.

Overall, there are set to be 935 beds across five different student blocks, generating a “continuous income stream” for the university of about £6.5 million per year.

The university currently has about 5,000 students living on campus, with another 10,000 elsewhere in the city.

And bosses at the university group have previously spoken of the risk of being oversubscribed, with Peter Pentecost telling council officials in 2021 the accommodation units tended to be “98% full”.

Given the sheer size of the project, developers say it will provide a £101 million boost to the local economy during the building stage, creating more than 800 construction jobs.

The scheme will also see the creation of a new “state-of-the-art” home for the outdated Canterbury Squash Club and a new sports pavilion on Jackman’s Field, allowing for the return of cricket.

The new squash club will boast five glass-backed courts and a large warm-up area.

It is hoped it will become a “world-class” destination for the sport, attracting international players and developing talent of all ages in east Kent.

Members of the squash club previously said they “could not overstate” how transformative the plans will be for the centre.

In the application process, 72 respondents wrote in to provide their support for the plans, while 16 lodged objections.

Many of the dozens of letters backing the proposals are from sport-lovers, who praised the planned “state-of-the-art” home for the squash and a new sports pavilion for St Edmund’s.

The council has looked favourably upon the sporting aspects, estimating that the new facilities will bring "major benefits" to the city.

The bid was backed by all 13 planning committee members in June 2021.

Veteran University of Kent professor and leading business forecaster Richard Scase told KentOnline the plans for more accommodation came down to a need to provide a “favourable environment” to entice international students.

“In principle, it’s a positive development but it depends on whether the developers have got their figures right sufficiently in terms of future student demand – if they have, it’s a positive contribution,” he said.

“If they haven’t, then we’ll have an increase in the number of vacant student units and the question is ‘is there an oversupply for demand in Canterbury?’.

“The university's view is that the demand from international students to come to Kent is still high and is going to be higher and the university needs the income from international students because of the financial situation.

“The homegrown students fees haven’t kept pace with the costs of the university because of inflation so in order to generate more income the university has to provide a favourable environment to attract students.”