Huge rise in Nottingham student accommodation developments revealed
There are over 7,600 student bed places either under construction or in planning in Nottingham, according to new figures.
The news comes as Nottingham City Council says there remains huge demand for student accommodation in the city and it is receiving “unprecedented” numbers of planning application to build student accommodation to house the almost 50,000 student who flock there each September.
The figures, from UrbInfo, show that there were currently 2,838 student bed spaces under construction on April 1 this year – up by 710 on 2019; while some 4,809 beds were in the planning stages – a huge rise of 1,373 on last year.
Meanwhile, at least a further 392 student spaces are in the pre-planning stage, says UrbInfo.
The biggest scheme in Nottingham at present is Deakins Place, which is being built by Cassidy Group. This will house some 703 students and the developer hopes to have it ready in time for the September 2021 academic year.
Councillor Linda Woodings, the City Council’s portfolio holder for planning and housing, speaking when Deakins Place received planning permission in December, said: “We’re very fortunate that Nottingham has two world class universities, and that our future doctors, nurses, scientists, teachers and many more choose the city as their place of study.
“However, following many years of growing numbers of students each year and under-supply of purpose-built student accommodation, it is important that developers continue to build it to prevent further loss of family housing for use as shared student homes in the heart of our neighbourhoods. We want to protect family homes from being converted to student housing because this creates imbalanced communities and issues for permanent residents.”
The huge rise in student development comes as Nottingham City Council has announced plans to force developers of the schemes to pay a contribution towards new affordable housing in the city, under new proposals by the City Council.
The council says that more purpose-built student developments are needed to try to deal with previous shortfall bedspaces, meet the growing demand as student numbers increase and free up traditional shared housing for families who need them – one of its main tenets.
The council’s proposal seeks to help with the balance of housing types by using Section 106 agreements to require developers to make a financial contribution towards more affordable housing in the city.
The recently adopted Local Plan, which is one of the documents planners refer to when making planning decisions, sets out the principle for seeking contributions from new PBSA for affordable housing contributions. The new Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) sets out how the City Council intends to agree S106 contributions for affordable housing from PBSA developments.
If approved, planning officers and members of the Planning Committee will be able to use the SPD alongside other documents when deciding whether to allow or refuse planning permissions, and any conditions, such as a Section 106 agreement, which will apply if permission is granted.
The Local Plan currently requires that 10% of all new residential developments of between 10-14 homes be for affordable housing, and 20% from schemes of 15 homes or more. The SPD will bring student schemes in line with this same requirement for general housing by proving a mechanism to secure funding for affordable housing contributions.
Woodings said: “Our two universities are vital for the city’s economy in terms of both the investment they bring and the jobs they support and create, as well as helping to teach and train our future doctors, nurses, scientists and teachers.
“We understand that there’s a perception that there’s too much student accommodation in the city, but actually, we are only just keeping pace with demand. Vacancy rates in new student flats have remained consistently below 2% for the past six years, with no signs of that changing as student numbers continue to rise.
“As a council we want to ensure that, as we continue to support these new developments, they in turn help contribute and give back to the city and its residents. Nottingham is in need of affordable housing, and the financial contributions from these schemes can help us build new affordable homes for those who need them.”
