St Edmund’s College is seeking approval of its plans to extend student accommodation, to include an extra sixteen rooms and more communal space.

Currently, the college provides 240 study bedrooms across several accommodation blocks, with 50 more rooms set to become available at Swirles Court, on the north-west Cambridge site, from Michaelmas 2017.

The college, which has a student body of almost 500, is not able to provide accommodation for all of its students. The housing shortage is a particular problem for students with families, who must join a waiting list. Families and couples are currently able to live in a small selection of flat and maisonette accommodation currently offered by the college.

The college’s plans, which are to come before Cambridge City Council's planning committee this week, consist of the extension of the Norfolk building to provide sixteen more student rooms and more large communal areas, and the removal of the current six family maisonettes to a quieter part of grounds.

The college has attempted to make is plans more environmentally conscious through the addition of a bird and bat box alongside the maisonettes, encouraging wildlife that may be disrupted by the building work to return to the area.

In their original planning application, the college also submitted plans to build an amphitheatre. However, after concerns were raised by the Environmental Health Team about potential noise and public disruption, these plans have been withdrawn.