EDINBURGH residents have furiously debated student housing developments after one local spotted another high-rise development in progress.
An image of the new development shared to social media yesterday sparked a debate on the issue, with many left increasingly angry at the seemingly dozens of new student housing developments appearing across the city.
The point of focus is a development on a site in the city centre, led by Vita Student who secured funding to the tune of £52m from Puma Property Finance.
Approved by the council in February last year it will focus mostly on student living with 267 beds provided for student accommodation.
The development on Sibbald Walk, part of a larger £240m Waverley regeneration project, will provide 207 “high-quality studio apartments”, 60 cluster rooms and includes a gym as well as social and study spaces.
Three townhouses will also be part of the development with proposals indicating that these will provide affordable residential housing.
With the accommodation aiming to be completed before the start of the 2026 academic year, building work by contractor McAleer & Rushe has already begun on the multi-million-pound development.
The development received just ten objections from locals while it was under planning review and was approved despite this.
In a post to social media yesterday one local commented: “Can they stop building bloody student flats?
“The council seriously need to look at the student flats that gain planning versus actual homes for residents.”
The post received a huge amount of attention gaining over 190 likes and more than 230 comments overnight.
One user wrote: “I don’t understand what people have against them. The more students who live in student flats, the more housing stock is free for regular people.
“My tenement stair is about 75% students, and I would be delighted if more of them lived in dedicated student accommodation.”
Another replied: “Student housing is a scam. It doesn’t serve locals or the council at all, and they’re a f***ing rip-off for the students.”
A third commented: “The biggest worry is that one day there may be less need and the flats will be empty.
“But they’re built to different standards than normal housing so they can’t be easily repurposed.”
Another said: “No, and frankly they should. Just build generic flats that anyone can use. Also, they pay no council tax. A drain on the council.”
A fifth added: “Can anyone explain to me how students can afford luxury flats twice the price than I can afford working full time?
“I guess Saudi princes are not their target audience.”
A comment on the planning application from the Lord Cockburn association reads: “We note that there is an existing planning approval for this site.
“However, we believe that overdominance of student accommodation in the current application is undesirable and will not support the social, economic and environment sustainability of the Old Town.
“We acknowledge that the proposed development is of a similar scale as the development which has approval for this site.
“But its taller, characterless, more monolithic appearance is at odds with the rest of the New Waverley development and with the architecture of the Old Town more generally.
“Student accommodation may be acceptable on this site. but only as part of a mixed-use development which conforms to City Plan 2030 and which includes affordable housing, commercial and community spaces and appropriate climate-ready landscaping and greenspace.
“The three housing units in the current proposal are clearly out of place and inconsistent with a scheme which is now entirely dominated by student housing.”
Another comment from an upset local reads: “Edinburgh city centre local residents are blocked in and surrounded by students.
“This has and is ruining local communities. The student ratio within a square mile of Dumbiedykes housing heavily outnumbers locals, this is very concerning.
“What Edinburgh city centre needs is more social housing, Edinburgh University seem to own more land than Edinburgh Council.
“Students pay no council tax therefore do not contribute to upkeep of local amenities. More student accommodation [is] simply driving/pushing out locals.
“Does this government along with Edinburgh Council want solely tourists and students in city centre?”
There are a total of 25 student housing developments planned for 2025 in the capital, creating nearly 5,000 rooms.
