A meeting hosted by Unipol Student Homes & Nottingham Action Group (U-NAG) was held in Nottingham on 21st February 2019. A number of speakers contributed to the meeting including representatives from Unipol, Nottingham City Council Planning department, Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham.
Unipol and Nottingham Action Group have had a working relationship for the last 10 years, working city wide with students and local residents alike.
The Unipol and NUS Accommodation Cost Survey 2018 has now been completed and showed a 6.1% rise in Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) rent levels across the UK.
Turning to Nottingham it was highlighted that:
- upcoming developments equal 1,429 bed spaces and that will not meet the planned expansion in students numbers from the two universities.
- By 2020-2021 3,000 additional bed spaces will be required (excluding post graduates).
- 40-50% of applications coming through planning are for PBSA developments.
- There are currently 59,500 full time students currently enrolled at both Universities, around 70% will require accommodation in the city
- students make up 12% of the total population of the city.
- Undergraduate applications for Nottingham Trent University are up by 11%, applications from overseas students are up by 9%, with high quality applicants.
This will make supply of accommodation in the city extremely tight.
In conclusion, Nottingham is and continues to be a popular choice for students to further their education and boasts top rankings Universities, and a vibrant nightlife with great transport links. However Nottingham’s popularity puts further pressure on accommodation requirements. Nottingham City Council planning department, the universities and Unipol are working together to help achieve sufficient bed spaces in the city over the coming years.