The time has come for Nottingham to start pivoting away from student accommodation, the city council’s leader says.
For years, the city has managed to avoid student housing crises seen in other areas of the country – such as Durham and Bristol – largely due to a policy encouraging the building of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).
While the building of these blocks has proven contentious, particularly in some planning committee meetings and among communities, the Labour-led council’s planning director, Paul Seddon, said the policy was “finally paying off”.
The council says that, over the last three years, more than 550 shared student homes have returned to residential and family use as a result of the policy.
However, the council’s leader, Cllr Neghat Khan (Lab), now says vacancy rates in purpose-built blocks are sitting at around 11 percent.
During a Full Council meeting on Monday (11 November), she said, “The time has come to pivot our focus towards meeting Nottingham’s wider housing need.”
At the meeting, Cllr Andrew Rule, of the Nottingham Independents and Independent Group, said: “The leader of the council has made frequent comments that the city has reached capacity for purpose-built student accommodation, which is similarly reflected in the council’s own PBSA occupancy survey.
“Does she agree with me that it is now time to depart from the policy and pivot towards a policy that encourages the development of graduate accommodation, affordable and social housing?”
Responding, Cllr Khan said: “Like Cllr Rule, I agree we need to start thinking beyond student accommodation and focus on delivering more affordable, social and graduate housing for the city. Over the last decade, we’ve seen a huge rise in purpose-built student accommodation.
“That has brought major investment, created jobs, and helped regenerate key parts of the city centre. It has also taken pressure off family housing areas.
“It is clear the picture is changing. Our latest occupancy survey shows an 11 percent vacancy rate across student accommodation – the first time in many years that supply has outstripped demand.
“Developers are already starting to rethink their plans as student numbers level off, and in some cases start to fall. At the same time, demand for affordable social housing in Nottingham has never been higher.
“We currently have over 11,000 households on our housing waiting list – families, young people, and older residents all needing a safe, secure and affordable home. That tells us clearly where our focus must be next.
“That is why we’ve said publicly that Nottingham has largely met its need for new student blocks. Some schemes that already have planning permission will still go ahead, but the pace will slow.”
Cllr Khan added that most student blocks can be repurposed into homes for graduates, young professionals, or key workers, and that new planning guidance is also being drawn up to encourage good-quality co-living and graduate housing in the future.