Latest news with #studentaccommodation
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Student flat use halves council's housing bill
Using vacant student flats to tackle a city's housing crisis has slashed thousands of pounds off a local authority's bills. Colchester City Council said it was halving its £14,000 daily cost of keeping people in temporary accommodation thanks to the scheme. It has more than 2,400 applicants on its housing register, with families facing five-year waits for a home. Labour councillor Julie Young said: "It has been transformational for those families that were living in one room." Student accommodation in the Greenstead area of the city was repurposed to house families after a council vote in September. The authority had been spending £440,000 per month on bed and breakfasts and hotels, but took action as demand continued to rise. Young said the figures were "staggering", but insisted the use of student flats - with separate bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom - had restored people's dignity. "You can't quantify the difference it must make for a family to cook their own food and eat round a table together," she said. "This is much better quality accommodation for families and it is cheaper for the council." Renting the student homes for about 150 households was costing the council £6,350 a day, more than half of what it spent on hotels and B&Bs. By the end of March, 132 of those households had benefited from the new initiative - which councillors are considering extending. Karen Loweman, a director at the council-run Colchester Borough Homes, said despite the positives she remained concerned about rising demand. There were 449 households in temporary accommodation in April, up from 326 the year before. "It's going up because there's not enough affordable houses," Ms Loweman said, She said 481 children were among those being supported, and it was "heartbreaking" to see them sharing cramped hotel rooms with their parents. The main causes of homelessness in Colchester are when private-rented tenancies end, instances of domestic abuse, and family members no longer being able to provide a home. "Our staff come into this work because they want to help people, but many now feel helpless," Ms Loweman added. But she said using student flats created a more positive environment for those receiving support. "I would like to see everyone in a house with a garden where they can bring their children up," she said. "We've found an interim solution that is better what we did have and, for now, it is certainly helping people." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. I left really bad situation with just clothes - mum Council admits failing hundreds of homeless people Student accommodation could help homeless crisis Colchester Borough Homes
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Use of Colchester student flats halves council's housing bill
Using vacant student flats to tackle a city's housing crisis has slashed thousands of pounds off a local authority's City Council said it was halving its £14,000 daily cost of keeping people in temporary accommodation thanks to the has more than 2,400 applicants on its housing register, with families facing five-year waits for a councillor Julie Young said: "It has been transformational for those families that were living in one room." Student accommodation in the Greenstead area of the city was repurposed to house families after a council vote in authority had been spending £440,000 per month on bed and breakfasts and hotels, but took action as demand continued to rise. 'Better quality' Young said the figures were "staggering", but insisted the use of student flats - with separate bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom - had restored people's dignity."You can't quantify the difference it must make for a family to cook their own food and eat round a table together," she said."This is much better quality accommodation for families and it is cheaper for the council." Renting the student homes for about 150 households was costing the council £6,350 a day, more than half of what it spent on hotels and B& the end of March, 132 of those households had benefited from the new initiative - which councillors are considering Loweman, a director at the council-run Colchester Borough Homes, said despite the positives she remained concerned about rising were 449 households in temporary accommodation in April, up from 326 the year before."It's going up because there's not enough affordable houses," Ms Loweman said, She said 481 children were among those being supported, and it was "heartbreaking" to see them sharing cramped hotel rooms with their parents. The main causes of homelessness in Colchester are when private-rented tenancies end, instances of domestic abuse, and family members no longer being able to provide a home."Our staff come into this work because they want to help people, but many now feel helpless," Ms Loweman she said using student flats created a more positive environment for those receiving support."I would like to see everyone in a house with a garden where they can bring their children up," she said."We've found an interim solution that is better what we did have and, for now, it is certainly helping people." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Plans approved for student flats and shop in Derby
Plans for a student accommodation block and a shop in Derby have been given the green City Council approved a planning application from 789 Trading Limited on Tuesday to construct a three-storey building on the site of the former 45 and 47 Mount proposed building will consist of 20 studio apartments on the upper two floors and a shop on the ground permission for the proposal was initially granted in 2018, but a new application was submitted as the planning approval lapsed after a three-year period. The proposed studio flats will consist of an en-suite bathroom, a small kitchenette, dining area, living space, desk and double site was cleared in 2017 with the demolition of two houses and 10 garages, planning documents to plans submitted by the applicant, 10 parking spaces will be provided for the proposed development, with nine allocated for the proposed retail unit and one disabled space for the student accommodation.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Council sells old leisure centre site for affordable homes
A council said it had taken a loss on the sale of a former leisure centre site in order to keep a promise not to build student accommodation on have been agreed to sell the old Clifton Hill leisure centre site, in Exeter, to a company that builds affordable housing for older City Council said the sale price of the site was just under £3.4m - below the market value of £ leader Phil Bialyk said: "We could get £3.8m, or even more, if we broke our promise not to build student accommodation." The council said it had taken a £400,000 loss after sticking to its promise the site would not be used to house students. 'We listened' The council closed the leisure centre in 2018 and knocked it down in 2022, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Services (LDRS).The two-acre site was originally sold to its in-house housing company Exeter City Living (ECL) for just over £ then bought it back last year for about £3m and the site went back on the market last permission had already been given for 41 homes on the site but none of the bidders wanted to take that on. Preferred Homes came in with a plan for 72 units of affordable rented housing for older development would have a cafe, meeting rooms and a weekly doctors' surgery. Homes will be made available to older Exeter residents on the housing Duncan Wood said: "It is important that we listened to local communities, heard their reservations and acted accordingly."
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Bankinter bids for Brookfield's student residence platform, Cinco Dias reports
MADRID, May 21 (Reuters) - Spain's Bankinter ( opens new tab has submitted a binding bid for Livensa, a student accommodation platform owned by Canadian fund Brookfield ( opens new tab, in what would be one of the largest deals in the sector in recent years, Spain's Cinco Dias reported on Wednesday. The paper said that Bankinter was one of the parties interested in acquiring the platform, which is valued at around 1.2 billion euros ($1.36 billion), according to unidentified real estate sources. Bankinter declined to comment while Brookfield was not immediately available to comment. A source told Reuters that the Canadian fund CPPIB and venture capital giant KKR (KKR.N), opens new tab were also among the interested parties. CPPIB and KKR were not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 0.8821 euros)
