Flats built at the site of a former Marks and Spencer are now ready to welcome students. 

Building work has finished at the block next to Aldi in London Road, Brighton.

Much of the pavement outside the buildings had been cordoned off for months while the works took place but this has been taken down now the block is ready. 

The five-storey building is made up of 156 flats in a mix of shared and studios and the cheapest flats start at £275 per week. 

That price is for an en suite room in an eight-bed shared flat. The most expensive flats are £385 per week for the "premium studio".

Tenancies last 51 weeks and can be paid in full or in three instalments, with no option for weekly or monthly payments.

The flats have four storeys in London Road and five storeys in Providence PlaceThe flats have four storeys in London Road and five storeys in Providence Place (Image: The Argus)

Students are set to move in from September 7 and their access to the building is in Providence Place.

READ MORE: Fear of 'increased sense of enclosure' means flat plans refused by council

he block has a reception area and communal spaces and there will be a 24/7 security presence to manage the building, the developer said.

The flats have five storeys in Providence PlaceThe flats have five storeys in Providence Place (Image: Brighton and Hove City Council)

The development is car-free but does have cycle route access and storage spaces.

A spokesman for McLaren Property, the planners, previously said: "The demand for quality, affordable student accommodation in Brighton continues to be a pertinent issue, with only 25 per cent of the city’s student community living in purpose-built student housing."

The old building housed Peacocks, Poundland and Iceland which were forced to move out in June 2022 when work on the block began. The 1930s M&S left the premises in 1986. 

This retail space in London Road has been retained but it is not yet known which shops will move into the new development.

Planners at McLaren, who put the proposals forward back in 2021, previously said the development would help combat antisocial behaviour that became a problem at the dilapidated building.

Another student housing block on the other side of the road opened in September 2022 with Nando’s, Co-op, Starbucks and dessert restaurant Heavenly Desserts beneath it.