Tag: student housing

Thousands of Scottish students facing homelessness, says new report

Thousands of students across Scotland are at risk of homelessness unable to access the right housing in the country’s biggest cities, according to a new report for a cross party group of MSPs.

It says there is a severe student housing crisis in cities including Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee and calls on the Scottish Government to take immediate action to tackle the issue.

The report for the Cross Party Group on Housing highlights significant shortfalls in student accommodation, including a shortfall of 13,852 bedspaces in Edinburgh, 6,093 in Glasgow, and 6,084 in Dundee.

An acute shortage of accommodation compounded by a lack of affordable and/or accessible options for students with additional support needs or mature students with families, has left many students facing precarious living situations.

“The Scottish Government declared a housing emergency earlier this year, but students are often left out of the conversation,” said Graham Simpson MSP, Convenor of the Cross-Party Group on Housing.

“We have come up with a set of recommendations for the government that are clear and challenging. These include the need for a collaborative approach to student housing, more robust data on student accommodation, and the integration of student housing into local housing strategies.”

The report, co-authored by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Scotland, the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE), the University of Stirling, StudentCrowd, the Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative (ESHC) and Slurp Edinburgh (Students for Action on Homelessness), also stresses the importance of city-wide one-stop shops that would guide students to suitable and affordable accommodation, an initiative that could help alleviate some of the pressure on housing markets in major student cities.

“The issue of student housing can be contentious as developers compete for prized land and local residents may feel pushed out due to lack of affordable housing supply,” said Ashley Campbell, Policy and Practice Manager, Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland.

“The challenge for government, local authorities and universities is to work together more proactively to ensure that everyone can access a home to meet their needs and that students can find their place within existing communities.”

Lawrence Williams of Slurp Edinburgh added: “From hidden homelessness to unaffordable rents, students in Scotland face a range of housing issues that have long been overlooked by policy-makers and universities.

“This report is a promising first step towards recognising the crisis and identifying structural barriers to student housing security.

“We urgently need bold measures like rent controls, cooperative student housing, and guaranteed emergency accommodation for homeless students.”

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Sight Scotland Edinburgh office site set for redevelopment

Yup, it’s more student housing, folks!

National charity Sight Scotland and property developer, S Harrison Developments, have jointly submitted a planning application to redevelop the site of the charity’s former HQ on Gillespie Crescent in Edinburgh, into student homes.

The funds released by the sale of the site will enable Sight Scotland, a charity dedicated to meeting the challenges of visual impairment, to further expand its reach, and support even more people living with sight loss within existing services such as the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh. It will also provide future services for the city as well as expanding its ability to fund medical research to tackle the root causes of sight loss.

Sight Scotland occupied the building for nearly a century and continue to repair and maintain it, despite vacating the building early in 2021 as it was no longer fit for purpose prior to taking the decision to sell it.

Staff were relocated to modern, open plan offices in Gorgie, suited to current working requirements, allowing them to work alongside the Scottish Braille Press Service.

Proposals include demolition of the existing vacant building and erection of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and associated amenity space, landscaping and infrastructure. A total of 145 bedrooms are proposed, with additional amenities including a cinema/multimedia room and gym. There will 100% cycle parking provision.

The development makes best use of the site and will deliver a high quality, well-designed, sustainable development, including green roofs, solar panels, air source heat pumps (ASHP), a rain garden and permeable paving.

A shared, publicly accessible amenity green space, will offer an area in front of the building for people to walk, sit and rest and provides the opportunity for social interaction of different groups within the community. The existing trees will also be retained.

Development will serve to address a well-recognised shortfall in student accommodation in the city, with a student homelessness crisis recognised by the Council in June 2023.

Between 2016/17 and 2021/22, student numbers in the city have increased by over 25%, from 53,845 to 67,355. Included in this, the University of Edinburgh saw numbers increase by 27% and Napier University by 29% over this period.1

Demand for student accommodation greatly outstrips supply, and places significant pressure on traditional family housing stock, with students occupying homes that would in many cases have previously been occupied by families.

The delivery of PBSA has the potential to free up such housing, or at the minimum provide accommodation for students who would have gone into these homes. This approach is supported by the Council’s planning guidance.

 A spokesperson for S Harrison Developments commented: “We are in a housing crisis, with a need for all types of housing.

“Demand for student accommodation greatly outstrips supply, and this is placing significant pressure on traditional family housing stock, with students occupying homes that would in many cases have previously been occupied by families.

“This proposed development on a brownfield site, if approved, will respond to this increasing demand, housing students in a central location with easy access by active travel and public transport to universities and delivering significant investment into the local community.”

Davina Shiell, Director of Marketing, Communications and Engagement for Sight Scotland said: “The funds released by the sale of the site, if consented, will enable us to further expand our reach, and support even more people living with visual impairments within existing services such as the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh.

“It will also allow us to provide new future services for the city, as well as expanding our ability to fund medical research to tackle the root causes of sight loss.”