Council launches new student accommodation strategy

A new plan aimed at increasing the choice and quality of student housing in Nottingham and stopping local communities feel like they’ve been swamped has been launched by Nottingham City Council.

The Student Living Strategy marks the first time that Nottingham City Council, the University of Nottingham, and Nottingham Trent University have made a formal commitment to work proactively together on shared priorities for housing and local services, as well as maximising the benefits that students bring to Nottingham.

Together they have launched a four-week consultation so people in the city can have their say on the proposals.

Both universities add a combined £3.8bn to the UK economy every year and support around 14% of the local economy, plus 25,000 jobs across the area.

Councillor Toby Neal, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Human Resources at Nottingham City Council, said: “Our universities and students are a fundamental part of Nottingham life and help to make the city the great place it is to live, work and play. We want Nottingham to be a city where people feel safe, an exciting and welcoming place, a city that is clean and environmentally sustainable, where we are ambitious for Nottingham people and businesses, and where everyone living here is proud of their city, their neighbourhood, and their local community.

“Our student community is vital to achieving this and with both universities bringing in millions to the economy each year, it is important that as a partnership we make sure students have the right places to live, that they become important members of the community and encourage more students to make this city their home after graduating.”

The Student Living Strategy sets out three main priorities:

– Improving the quality, safety, affordability and location of student accommodation, and encouraging a better balance of student housing choice across the city.
– Encouraging neighbourliness, where students contribute to creating a clean, attractive and sustainable environment, and tackling the impact of waste and noise
– Increasing community cohesion, ensuring students are valued members of their communities and improving graduate retention in the city

The council says that rising numbers of students living in shared houses can have an impact on the number of homes available for families. By actively encouraging the development of purpose-built student accommodation and using planning policy to restrict the conversion of family homes into shared rental properties, the council says it has taken steps to ensure families aren’t priced out of the market.

The council says it will also continue to use property accreditation and rented housing licences such as Selective, Additional and Mandatory HMO licensing, to help raise housing standards in rented student housing and act when properties aren’t up to scratch.

Nottingham’s universities have made a joint commitment to invest around £1m into the prevention and enforcement of issues related to waste, noise and other ASB this year. This is around a three-fold increase in spend since 2019/20.

Michael Lees, director of campus services at Nottingham Trent University, said: “We are delighted and excited in this partnership working which will further strengthen community relations and enable our students to feel welcomed and supported in calling Nottingham their home.

“This plan is the start of something really quite powerful and will benefit our great city enormously.”

Dr Paul Greatrix, registrar, University of Nottingham, added: “This strategy will offer a new and positive partnership approach to dealing with challenges around ensuring the availability of good quality, appropriate housing for all Nottingham residents, building vibrant, positive communities and ensuring that we are capitalising on the talent and potential of the people who come to study and live in our city.

“We are keen to hear from students, other local residents and employers about how we achieve these positive outcomes for all.”

A consultation runs from Wednesday 22 February to Wednesday 22 March.