Well spotted! I must have confused the regulations or misremembered local news coverage. The building next door, the Alexandra Hotel, is Grade II Listed so the developer of this block of student apartments was probably given permission so long as the facade was retained (sort-of…) for group value.
It is surprisingly successful - walking or driving past, one only notices the street-level frontage. Anyone who looks up can’t quite believe it, though.
Me too, in theory. It’s just a concept that needs to be executed really well or it looks unfinished. It looks unfinished, IMO.
