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Edinburgh Planning Guidance
1
Student Housing
Objective
This guideline is supplementary to Edinburgh City Local Plan
Policy Hou 10 Student Housing.
The policy states:
Planning permission will be granted for purpose-built student
accommodation where:
a) the location is appropriate in terms of access to public
transport and university andcollege facilities; and
b) the proposal will not result in an excessive concentration of
student accommodation in
any one locality
General
The Council recognises the important contribution that higher
education makes to the
city. One of the core aims of the Edinburgh City Local Plan is
to, support the growth of
the city as centre of learning and higher education.
The number of students studying in higher and further education
in Edinburgh grew by
approximately 20,000 between 2002 an 2009.
The amount of bedspaces granted planning permission for purpose
built student
accommodation has not kept pace with this rate. Between
2002-2009 a total of 2,900
bedspaces were granted within Edinburgh, (not counting 1500
bedspaces at Queen
Margaret University campus in East Lothian).
This increase in student population and the lack of purpose
built accommodation has
led to a continuing tendency for students to concentrate in HMOs
in central tenementareas. It is recognised that the high student
population in such areas can bring benefits,
for example in supporting local services. However, the trend has
lead to the loss of family
housing resulting in:
- Increased HMOs
- Less stable communities
- A rapid turnover of population
- Properties left vacant for extended periods in the summer
Approved February 2010
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2
Student Housing
There is a need for more purpose-built student housing and it is
preferable that
student needs are met as far as possible in purpose built and
managed schemes. Such
developments help:
- Decrease the widespread conversion and use of family housing
stock.
- Decrease the need for travel with students located on or
adjacent to campuses.
The average size of proposals for student accommodation in
Edinburgh is 140 bedspaces
ranging from 14 to 340. Generally higher densities are welcomed
provided that they are
satisfactorily integrated into surrounding areas.
Locational Guidance
The criteria in ECLP Policy Hou 10 will be applied to proposals
for student housing using
the locational guidance set out below. The guidance will not be
applied in isolation andconsideration must be given to site
characteristics and other matters addressed in the
local plan such as design, conservation and parking.
- In and adjacent to main campuses further student housing will
generally be
acceptable.
- In other locations with good access to university and college
facilities by public
transport or by walking or cycling, purpose built student
housing will be acceptable
provided it will not result in a student population of 30% or
more in the locality (data
zone).
- Elsewhere student housing will generally not be permitted.
Map 1 identifies the main university and college campuses where
it is deemed that
further student housing would be acceptable in principle.
Maps 2 and 3 uses 2001 census data to show full time students
(aged 16 or over) as
a percentage of the total population. These are split into data
zones which are fixed
small areas, created from 2001 Census Output Areas, which avoid
homogeneity and
confidentiality issues.
Assessment Information
Proposals should be accompanied by a planning statement
justifying the suitability of
the location for student housing. This applies to all proposals
except those within the
identified campuses on Map 1.
Such statements should set out the capacity of existing and
planned development in
both the data zone the proposal is located in and the adjoining
data zones. This should
include:
- Student accommodation either completed, under construction,
pending
determination or in the pre-application process.
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Student Housing
- Local plan housing allocations or existing development
framework/brief aspirations
- Other housing development or proposals including the loss of
housing to other
uses
To aid in this assessment the Council holds the following
available information:
- Population figures for each data zone.
- A schedule of planning applications for student accommodation.
This includes
information on applications from 2002, their status (i.e.
proposal of application
notice pending consideration, granted) and if permission has
been implemented.
- Housing land audit - includes housing sites under
construction, sites with planning
consent for housing, sites in adopted local plans and where
appropriate, other
buildings and land with agreed potential for housing
development.
The 2001 census data showing students as a percentage of the
total population should
be used as a starting point. The analysis of the above
information can then be used to
assess the likely number of students within the overall
population.
Map 1: Location of University/College Campuses
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Map 2: Student Census
Produced by the City Development Department : Planning - October
2010
For further details contact:
Head of Planning, The City of Edinburgh Council, Waverley Court,
4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BJ.
Tel: 0131 529 3571 Fax: 0131 529 6207 Email:
[email protected]
Student Housing
Map 3: Student Census
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