Edinburgh City Council have dropped proposals for a ban on new student accommodation in Edinburgh over fears of a legal backlash from city developers and worries about student housing shortages.
SNP Councillor Danny Aston, who originally proposed the ban, told The Student he was “hugely disappointed” in the council’s decision, adding, “Already anecdotally we hear that many PBSAs (purpose-built student accommodations) are well under capacity.”
But those opposing the ban say stopping PBSA development would have unwanted repercussions.
Several councillors spoke at Wednesday’s Planning Committee about the legal implications for the city’s own development plans and the impact a ban would have on housing availability for students.
Scottish Conservative Councillor Joanna Mowatt said in the meeting, “We might do all this work and say, ‘we need more student housing.”
Cllr Mowatt’s concerns are supported by last year’s report by the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland (CIH), which found there was a 13,852 student bed shortage in Edinburgh.
For international students such as Kami from Munich, private housing blocks are often the only accommodation available. “As an international student, it was almost impossible to find a UK guarantor who allowed me to live in private agency housing, so new PBSAs are always useful and needed for the large international community in Edinburgh”.
But Cllr Aston claims a bigger issue is at hand, with 26,799 Edinburgh locals registered as in need of social housing, “It’s reasonable for people to ask whether it’s right that sites suitable for ordinary housing are acquired for PBSA during a housing emergency” he said.
With shortages impacting both students and locals, Ashley Campbell from the Chartered Institute of Housing says, “The challenge for government, local authorities and universities is to work together more proactively to ensure that everyone can access a home,”
“Edinburgh Council building – geograph.org.uk – 1315978” by kim traynor is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.