Residents of Cork's newest private student accommodation will pay rents of around €1,000 a month.

Almost half of all the rooms in Cork city’s largest student apartment complex, where €10,000-a-year penthouse units boast “seriously Instagramable views” of the city, have been snapped up ahead of the new academic term.

There have been calls for a halt on the development of student accommodation in residential areas of Cork City until a coherent planning policy on such projects is adopted.

A 348-bed student apartment complex up to five storeys high is set to go ahead in Cork’s western suburbs after councillors voted to materially contravene the city development plan.