UK: A Labour councillor in Leeds has says coliving is “not something we should be encouraging”.
Labour’s Kayleigh Brooks said the concept was “dystopian” and suggested coliving developments would be unaffordable for their target market.
Leeds City Council is developing its own set of policies for coliving spaces, so town planners can decide whether or not to approve such applications from developers.
Speaking during a debate about the concept at a council planning meeting on Tuesday, Councillor Brooks, who represents the Little London and Woodhouse area, said: “It’s entirely dystopian that this in front of us.”
She described the typical £800 to £1,200 a month rent for coliving schemes as “obscene” and added: “I’m not sure the vast majority of graduates would be able to afford to live here. When I was a graduate I had no pennies to rub together at all. If you’re on a starting salary of not very much, you’re not going to be able to cover that. I really, really don’t think it is something we should be encouraging in the city. We’re not London, we’re Leeds, and we need to uphold our space standards.”
Leeds-based developer KMRE Group submitted a planning application for a 189-unit coliving scheme in the city centre last August.
