Cheltenham Ladies' College has applied to the borough council for permission to build a new boarding house.

The proposed new accommodation would include 65 ensuite bedrooms, including four accessible rooms, as well as common rooms and kitchen and dining facilities. The plans also include three staff apartments and a staff 'crash pad' for short-term stays.

The new boarding house would be located to the south of Parabola Road, adjacent to St Helen's and St Austin's boarding houses and the Malmaison Hotel.

The site is on Ladies' College land and is currently a redundant tennis court, no longer in use due to degradation of the surface and surroundings. There are other tennis courts and sports facilities on the CLC campus, within a 10-minute walk of the proposed boarding house.

The Design and Access Statement from MICA Architects, accompanying the planning application, said: "The project, comprising of 65 student bedrooms, is a key part of the wider College masterplan and will provide much needed new residential accommodation for students, allowing for critical upgrades to be carried out to other College facilities as part of a holistic campus sustainability strategy.

"The tennis court site was recognised in the 2018 estate's masterplan as an important development site because of its strategic location within the Parabola Road crescent. Development on this site presents two major advantages to the masterplan: to consolidate College assets and pupils within proximity to the main College and to other boarding houses and developing this vacant site enables the required residential capacity for the refurbishment programme to begin. This will enable the College to offer excellent and world leading pastoral environments."

The proposed accommodation block is set over four storeys, plus a basement for the plant room. It will cover 2,563sq m of internal floorspace.

The Design and Access Statement continued: "Feedback received was that current rooms are too small, with low ceiling heights and are difficult to refurbish to provide long term value."

The proposed new rooms will be 14sq m, with accessible rooms measuring 18.2sq m. Existing rooms are only 6.7sq m, with a sink rather than an ensuite bathroom and limited storage.

The Design and Access Statement concluded: "The proposed new boarding house will provide more flexible rooms, offering a greater level of care to students."