The vice chancellor of Ravensbourne University said the towers would benefit “both the higher education sector and the local community”
Plans to build two high-rise student accommodation tower blocks—one of them close to 30 storeys—on the Greenwich Peninsula have been submitted to Greenwich Council.
Luxury student accommodation developer and operator YourTribe has lodged a proposal to build a 27-storey tower that would contain 673 student bed spaces and a 23-storey tower containing 380 purpose-built shared living spaces.
The two towers would be built on an empty patch of land between the Silvertown Tunnel entrance and a gas holder which has been marked as a site for potential redevelopment in the Greenwich local plan.
YourTribe believes the area is a prime development spot for student housing due to its good transport links (it’s only 0.2 miles from North Greenwich Station) and because it’s walking distance from Ravensbourne University, the University of Greenwich and the Greenwich campus of Coventry University London.
Students would typically have their own studio-style flats with ensuite bathrooms. Larger rooms contain their own basic kitchen facilities, and students would share the use of larger kitchen and dining areas on their respective floors.
As well as rooms for students, the development would contain several games rooms, social lounges, study areas and even a gym. Both towers also have plans for a roof terrace overlooking the Thames.
The car-free development contains only four accessible car parking spaces. There are 338 long stay cycle spaces in one tower and 190 in the other, as well as 36 short stay cycle spaces for visitors.
Planning documents state that the development design offers a “confident, well-ordered pair of buildings that create their own presence whilst positively contributing to the emerging character of the peninsula”.
Ravensbourne University’s vice chancellor Jon Kingsbury has voiced his approval for the project, saying Ravensbourne had been in regular contact with YourTribe since 2022 regarding the plans.
Mr Kingsbury said demand for student accommodation in the area is “extremely high”. He said that in 2025, 485 Ravensbourne students applied for only 188 accommodation places, something he described as a “substantial undersupply against demand”.
In a letter of support, he wrote: “The availability of affordable, high quality and well-located residential options for our students is becoming of paramount importance to us, as it is for all London higher education institutions.
“Student numbers are due to increase in London and without appropriate, purpose-built student housing this will both put pressure on the local housing market and reduce student satisfaction. Our view is that the proposal by YourTRIBE will benefit both the higher education sector and the local community.”
The student tower plans, which can be viewed on the Greenwich Council planning portal at reference 26/2018/F), are among several high-rise proposals for the peninsula which is set to be an area of major redevelopment over the coming years.
Greenwich Council approved a 26-storey and 22-storey tower development on the other side of the gas holder in 2024, and the Greenwich Peninsula masterplan contains schemes as tall as 34 storeys in the pipeline as well.
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