Number of student blocks prompts investigation

THE student housing market in Birmingham is being investigated by planning chiefs as more and more apartment blocks spring up.

Selly Oak and Bournbrook have already been transformed as family houses are converted into student homes, and now the city centre is being inundated with planning applications.

Birmingham City Council planning committee members have fre- quently raised concerns about the increasing number of student blocks being built, questioning if there is really enough demand.

Plans have just been approved for the construction of a six-storey block for 61 students on the site of a former factory in Bridge Street West, Newtown.

There are already huge blocks under construction next to Lancaster Circus and Eastside.

Fiona Williams, Labour councillor for Hodge Hill, said students were finding the purpose-built apartments too expensive and opting for shared houses instead. “There are also eight million people living within an hour’s commute of Birmingham,” she said. “More students are staying at home.”

Conservative councillor Gareth Moore, who represents Erdington, added that Newtown might be too far from Aston and Birmingham City Universities to attract students.

Developer Bosworth Properties said there was actually a 21 per cent shortfall in student bed spaces – a figure disputed by the city council.

Planning officer Louise Robinson promised that a full report, with pro- posals for any changes to planning policy, would be going to the committee in due course.

She said the student housing market was undergoing a transition following BCU’s move from Perry Barr to the city centre.

Birmingham has a student population of about 65,000, many of whom are demanding quality accommodation. At the top end of the market, student apartments cost up to £150 per week.

The Gun Quarter area, in particular, has become a hive of development.