More than half of a large student housing block being built opposite Blackhorse Road Tube station may be rented as studio flats for non-students for the next year.

Developer Watkin Jones, which is building 353 student homes at 4-10 Forest Road, has applied to Waltham Forest Council for permission to change how the finished building is used.

If granted, the application would allow 180 of the homes to be rented as studio flats for a year, while the other 173 would remain student accommodation.

The development also includes a commercial floor space and a cycle hub. Work began in 2018 and was meant to finish this summer before it was disrupted by the lockdown.

A spokesperson for the company said that “given the uncertain trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic” it was working to “maximise the options for properties that are being built”.

They described the move as a “precaution” and could not offer any details on whether the flats would be offered at market-rate or more affordable rents.

Under new Government regulations to encourage economic recovery, work on the site will now be allowed between 8am and 9pm from Monday to Saturday.

Residents wishing to respond to the application should email dmconsultations@walthamforest.gov.uk and quote the reference 202279.

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