A scheme by Howells to turn a 1980s office building in south London into student accommodation has been given the green light by Southwark planners.

The block at 182-202 Walworth Road will be overhauled into nearly 300 student bedrooms as well as new retail and a publicly accessible courtyard garden.

The job, which is being developed by Fabrix, will also 23 homes for social rent at the site.

The block will be turned into new student homes

It will also include a 2,626 sq ft community kitchen, which will open up into the courtyard garden.

Others working on the deal include QS Turner & Townsend Alinea, project manager Gardiner & Theobald, M&E consultant Arup and structural engineer Elliott Wood.

Fabrix is also behind a £180m scheme in London that would have seen a mini forest built on top of the former Blackfriars Crown Court in Southwark.

But this has been stalled because of affordability issues. The seven-storey building on Pocock Street had been due to be carried out by Mace, with 385,000 sq ft of office and community space to be built alongside the rooftop forest.