New pictures offer a first look inside a swanky new city centre development where students will have to fork out more than £900-a-month for studio flats.

Developers have revealed the 143-bed Canterbury high street complex – now christened Westgate One – is set to welcome its first residents this summer.

Images of how the halls might look show modern, well-lit rooms, in an enviable position just a stone's throw from the city's Westgate Towers.

But with its studio flats priced between £945 to £995 a month according to lettings agents, Westgate One will become the latest expensive purpose-built student development built in Canterbury in recent years.

Critics have warned that such accommodation is affordable only to children of wealthy parents, exacerbating "class divisions" among university students.

But developer Paul Roberts Developments has defended the pricing, which it says "is comparable with other student studios available in Canterbury".

Elsewhere in the city, at the new Canterbury Riverside development, set to open this year, studios range from £836 to £879 per month.

At Palamon Court on the city's ring road, self-contained flats range from £801 for a standard studio, to £1,001 for the priciest "Cathedral view ultra studios".

Meanwhile, Alma Court in Military Road offers studios from between £888 to £1,018 a month. Parham Road Student Village has just four studio apartments available for £823 a month.

However, each of these developments offer cheaper non-studio options with shared kitchen facilities and communal spaces.

At Westgate One, all of the rooms will be studio flats, with double beds, their own en-suites, cooking facilities and all bills included.

Paul Roberts Developments spokesman Jamie Hipgrave said: "We are very encouraged by the positive reaction they have had, with approximately 20% having been let in the first two weeks of marketing.

"We believe this rapid take-up is partly because of the appeal of this central location, next to the Westgate Towers, close to the West Station, and in part because of the attractive design and high quality construction."

Work on Westgate One – which sits behind the prime St Peter's Street premises that for 117 years was home to Barretts car dealership – began in 2020 and remains under way.

Mr Hipgrave said: "Progress has been running smoothly over the last year. The development is being built as four blocks, with two due for completion this summer ready for the beginning of the academic year.

"Works will continue on the other blocks, with completion dates of summer 2023 and 2024."

City business expert Professor Richard Scase has previously criticised the increasing amount of luxury student accommodation in Canterbury.

"The students that can afford to live in these are often from rich overseas families," he said.

"They are also rented by UK-based students with affluent parents who can pay their rents and later, pay-off their debts.

"Meanwhile, students from less privileged backgrounds have to make do with either on-campus accommodation (that can be very good) or more likely in the converted rental two-up, two-down houses offered by private landlords.

"This means the social mixing between students from different class backgrounds is highly limited, certainly by comparison with the sharing of corridors in the traditional student halls of residence."

The cheapest student accommodation currently available in Canterbury is a two-bed house share in Beverley Road which costs £205 per month, according to Rightmove.

The former Barretts showroom that fronts the Westgate One development is set to be turned into a reception area for the flats, and a small coffee shop for the use of students and the public.

It is hoped this area will be ready at the same time as the final phase but no details have yet been revealed regarding the firm that will manage it.

A show flat and marketing suite have been erected inside the former Barretts building.

Viewings can be arranged via Caxtons Student Lettings.