The 250,000 sq ft student scheme is being built on land owned by Stratford City Developments, the Westfield vehicle that controls zone one of the 180-acre Stratford City development site.

The site originally lay within zone 2 of Stratford City and had outline consent for as much as 300,000 sq ft of offices. The ODA has agreed to amend the consent to include it within zone 1, where Westfield has consent for a further 1.1m sq ft of offices.

Richard Simpson, managing director of property for UNITE, said: “The scheme in Stratford represents a further milestone in our target to substantially expand our presence in the key London market, and brings us a step closer to reaching our goal of creating 4,000 new beds in the Capital between 2012 and 2014.

“We are particularly excited about this scheme, and are confident that the continued investment being made in the area, as a result of the Olympic Games, coupled with a favourable and ongoing supply/demand dynamic in the student accommodation sector in London, will make this scheme a great success.”

John Burton, Director of Westfield Stratford City, said: “This development is a great addition to Stratford and the transformation taking place in East London.

“The accommodation Unite propose to deliver will complement the retail and leisure at Westfield Stratford City as well as the 1.1m sq ft of offices we are delivering, together with homes and hotels.

“The area is undergoing major change and the opening of Westfield Stratford City this year represented the first piece of the long term legacy.”