Some local councillors and residents fear the identity of Beeston is being lost as student homes start to dominate some streets, making fewer houses available to families.
Broxtowe Borough Council has introduced a new policy to try and control the number of homes being transformed into student digs.
The idea is to ensure Beeston has a balanced community. But is it too late? Local Democracy Reporter Matt Jarram reports.
At the same time as many other high streets were collapsing under the weight of the pandemic, Beeston’s town centre seemed to be attracting more investment.
The town now has a £14 million cinema, new bars and restaurants, a street art trail, and is aiming to become ‘a major destination’ for shoppers and revellers.
Broxtowe Borough Councillor Greg Marshall (Lab) said at a planning meeting in February the town was “bucking the national trend”, adding the growing local economy was no accident.
“It is directly related to the student population,” he stressed, “and the significant spending power they are bringing to Beeston and Broxtowe”.
But in the same meeting, other councillors suggested the benefits are coming at a significant cost to the area, and pointed out a significant number of family homes are now being sold off to developers.
Often converted into houses of multiple occupancy, known in planning terms as ‘HMOs’, these properties can sometimes have more than five students under one roof.
Much of the demand arises because Beeston is a short walk or tram ride away from the main campus of the University of Nottingham, which has more than 40,000 students in total, although not all of them choose to live in Beeston.
Cllr Lynda Lally (Lab), representing residents in Beeston Central, said some streets which were once largely home to families were now 100 per cent occupied by student homes.
“This destroys communities,” she said.
The University of Nottingham says it tries to offer on-campus accommodation to as many students as possible, and says it is not planning to significantly increase student numbers.
Out on the streets often mentioned during the council’s debates, there’s a feeling among some residents that the balance is already too far in favour of university life.
Boots worker Gabor Feher, 48, is living on Sailsbury Street, which is often identified as being student-saturated. He has lived in the area for seven years.
He says he’s had enough and is moving to Clifton.
“It is very noisy,” he said. “From 5pm to 11pm there are cars pulling up here all the time. I lived in Queens Road before and you could not sleep all night.
“Students do not care about these houses.
“We are going to move. Students do bring in the money, but you need to think about normal people as well.”
There were 229 licensed HMO properties in Beeston in February, occupied by five or more people forming two or more households. The council does not hold precise information on how many of them are actually students.
Smaller HMOs occupied by up to four people do not require a license and do not need to be registered with the local authority.
After hearing concerns from councillors and residents, Broxtowe Borough Council brought in an ‘Article 4 Direction’ on March 26th.
It means planning permission will be needed to change the use of a house to an HMO with three to six people such as students.
The council has also started a consultation on a ‘Supplementary Planning Document’ (SPD).
The aim of this is to provide guidance as to what may or not be acceptable when deciding if an HMO should be given planning approval.
Proposals include not granting planning permission for an HMO with three or more consecutive HMOs on the same street, and to reject an HMO if the number of known HMOs in a 100 metre radius exceeds 10 per cent.
Cllr Milan Radulovic (Lab), leader of Broxtowe Borough Council, said it has taken almost two years to bring the idea to fruition.
He said there had been “a glut” of HMOs over the last 12 months as developers tried to avoid the policy before it came into force.
“It is changing the nature of Beeston,” he said.
“It is becoming quite serious and we need to take a look at what the balance is. You can’t keep converting houses for 12 students. It is causing havoc for parking and residents.
“The Article 4 Direction will limit the opportunities for converting residential properties. No, it is not too late. It is better late than never.”
Keith and Valerie Rowe, both 79, have lived on Queens Drive for 32 years. They live close to Queens Road – another area known for student housing.
Mrs Rowe said: “It is better that students have their own accommodation than taking up all these houses. There is an imbalance at the moment.
“I am not blaming the students. People are selling the houses and getting lots of money out of it. I think it (Article 4) is a good idea.
“We want more families with children because all the shops have gone to pot. There are so many empty and it does not seem like the same place any more.”
Mr Rowe added: “Personally, I don’t mind the students. It brings money into Beeston. It might go the other way without them. There would not be much in Beeston at all.”
Planning officers at Broxtowe Borough Council have argued that the building of purpose-built student accommodation in the town could also bring more family homes back into use.
There are a number planned, including an 84-bed student development at Broadgate House at the junction of Broadgate and Humber Road.
Cllr Philip Owen (Con), who sits on the planning committee, said this was “utter nonsense” and wanted evidence of how many family homes were back on the market as a result of the increase in purpose-built student accommodation.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked for the figure, but the council said this information was not available.
Cllr Radulovic later stated: “It is very few. I would not even say double figures. It does not happen. It is not the reality.”
Muhammad Ali is a community officer at the University of Nottingham’s Students’ Union, representing tens of thousands of students.
Although Nottingham Trent University is also in the city, the majority of students living in Beeston study at the University of Nottingham campus.
Muhammad, a third-year economics student, has been working at improving the student experience including varying the types of accommodation available.
He said while the Article 4 Direction has good intentions, University of Nottingham students are constantly fighting for a place to live in places like Lenton and Beeston.
He said: “The plan does seem to be – build lots of purpose-built student accommodation – but we want good accommodation. We do not want lots of individual rooms where people sit in there and hate it.
“We can’t change the fact that a lot of students want to live in a house with their friends. It is an integral part of the student experience.
“The housing market is broken. Students have to look for a house a year in advance because it is so competitive to get an HMO to let.
“You are getting students who would pay £80 to £90 a week, now paying over £100 but the quality has gone down. Landlords know they are going to get a tenant because students need houses.
“It is not just students living in a house with mates, it is by far the cheapest option. The fees for purpose-built student accommodation are relatively high, £140 to £150 a week.
“One of my issues with Article 4 is it limits the number of student options, especially if you are faced with growing student numbers.
“If they are stopping them from going through a HMO route, what is the alternative and how is it going to meet the needs of students in terms of affordability and desirability?”
The University of Nottingham said it does not plan to grow its student numbers “significantly”, but did not provide an exact figure.
A University of Nottingham spokesperson said: “Students bring economic, social and cultural benefits to the city, with many volunteering in the communities of which they are a part, or working in the city’s front line services.
“We offer campus accommodation to as many students as possible, including guaranteed accommodation for first years, and are looking to see what more we can do in this area.
“Whilst the University of Nottingham does not have plans to grow our student numbers significantly from current levels, we are committed to working in partnership with the city on this important issue.”
Damian McGrath, landlord at The Star Inn in Beeston, knows the importance of the student market – some of them drink in his pub.
He stressed: “You just have to accept that Beeston is a student town. If the university relocated next week you would see the end of Beeston as a thriving town.”
