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UK: The Scottish Greens are calling to temporarily suspend new purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) developments in Glasgow.
Green MSP Iris Duane called for a moratorium after a briefing note by Glasgow City Council identified 21,655 operational student beds across the city. The note also revealed that there are 18,213 beds in the process being developed.
“We need to assess where PBSAs are being built and how that will impact local residents and businesses,” Duane said. “Too often transnational corporations, who have never walked our streets, are plonking them down with little regard for those who already live there.”
Duane also cited a lack of joined-up thinking around where to build PBSAs and who they are for is “tearing apart local communities”, and said she will question ministers in charge of this area to make sure PBSAs are created to support both students and locals.
“Whilst student numbers continue to fall, we cannot end up in a position where we have empty PBSAs across the city in the middle of a housing crisis,” she added.
A Scottish Government spokesperson responding to Duane’s call said: “Planning applications for new student accommodation are a matter for local authorities.”
Highlights:
- The Scottish Greens are calling for a temporary suspension of new purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) developments in Glasgow, with Green MSP Iris Duane seeking a moratorium on new schemes
- Glasgow has 21,655 operational student beds and a further 18,213 beds in the development pipeline, according to a briefing note cited by the Scottish Greens. If the pipeline is delivered, total provision could reach nearly 40,000 beds
- Iris Duane says the scale and location of planned PBSA developments need to be assessed against student demand and the needs of local communities, including the potential impact on existing residents and businesses.
- The call for a moratorium comes amid concerns about the relationship between student numbers, PBSA supply and Glasgow’s wider housing market
- The Scottish Greens want future PBSA development to be better coordinated, with Duane saying she will question Scottish Government ministers about how student accommodation can support both students and local communities
