Council planning chief hails student ghettos
Students may be forced to turn to expensive purpose built accommodation rather than renting normal residential flats, if current plans to further restrict HMO licenses go forward.
The Scottish Executive’s ‘Planning For Housing Consultation’ suggests: "Where such a policy does not already exist, and where it is considered appropriate, local authorities should develop policies relating to the maximum proportion of HMOs that should exist in any defined area."
Comments by Alan Henderson, the council’s head of planning, have lead to concerns that the Council is turning to accommodation offered by companies such as UNITE to help solve the conflict between demand for student accommodation and community opposition to students.
Mr Henderson told The Scotsman that "The provision of purpose built student accommodation is considered more beneficial to local residential amenity than the use of existing residential accommodation for such purposes."
Mo Ford, founder of the group ‘Save the Meadows’, which is against a proposed development by the company UNITE for a complex of 81 student flats near the meadows, said: "The Scottish Government's plans to severely limit HMO properties and the corporate takeover of student housing and public space are inextricably linked."
UNITE currently have three developments up and running and two more that will be functional for the 08-09 academic year. The company propose to provide an additional 1400 student beds by 2010 to meet demand for student accommodation in the capital.
The cost per person of UNITE rooms ranges from around £500 to £700 per month. Even taking into account the fact that these prices include utility bills and internet access it still far exceeds the average price paid by students in the city, which Crichton Stuart Management placed at £300 a month.
The President of Edinburgh University Student’s Association, Josh MacAlister said: "Students should be able to live where they want to. If they are fed up after first year of living in ‘hall-type’ accommodation, then they should have the freedom to live amongst the community."
Adding “For a lot of people being a student is the first taste of independent living and so a lot of students want to live in communities side by side with residents.”
These sentiments were echoed by Edinburgh University first year, Liz Black. Miss Black stressed that: "there’s nothing wrong with these flats if they are where students want and can afford to live but students shouldn’t find themselves forced into them because of restrictions imposed on other types of accommodation."
Miss Black, who will be moving out of University halls next year stated: ‘If Edinburgh had been known to be a place where it was difficult to rent normal residential flats then that would greatly have affected my decision to study here.’
A UNITE spokesperson said: ‘The company’s existing properties and our plans for further developments are designed to ease the shortage while increasing the choice of quality, well-located student accommodation and hospitality services that are available at affordable prices. This, in turn, will alleviate pressure on the traditional rented sector.”
The company argue that: “Purpose built student accommodation helps to facilitate sustainable communities and alleviates the pressure on local housing stock that could be freed up for families or first time buyers.”
Speaking to The Journal, Mr Pike, UNITE’s Acquisition and Development Manager said: “It’s understandable that communities don’t want large numbers of students in the area. Clearly, when you get them together in one space, there’s less chance of friction.”
However Ms Ford argues: ‘People who complain about HMO tenants are primarily concerned with a desire to see more community involvement. Shoving students in one massive complex of buildings and in effect babysitting them doesn’t really encourage that in my opinion.’
Despite support from council officials, UNITE has also encountered resistance to some of its proposed developments. Permission for a £22 million development on MacDonald road was denied after local opposition and the Chalmers Street development, although still due to go ahead, has recently suffered set backs.
Mr MacAlister told The Journal, that this is what he sees as part of a wider problem with student accommodation and relations with the community.
He commented: “When it comes to working with the community to ease tensions there is no easy answer. It requires a strong and open dialogue; students need to take some responsibility for the running of their community and residents need to be understanding about the changing demographics in Edinburgh.”
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