Our thoughts on Studentification

(Photo: some of the hazards of high concentrations of multi-occupancy households)

Many people we have spoken to over the past few months have mentioned issues caused by rising numbers of multi-occupancy households.

The majority of such households provide accommodation for students, and the positive contribution of our two thriving universities to the city is often mentioned. Access to higher education expanded under the previous Labour government, giving many more people the valuable opportunity to go to university.

However, it does also need to be recognised that large numbers of multiple occupancy households do put a strain on a neighbourhood, if they are clustered together into a small area. Parking space, rubbish collection and noise at night were the three issues most often mentioned.

The Council issued a scrutiny report on the subject in 2009, with actions covering those three issues. However, from talking to residents we get the impression that we are yet to see positive results. We think that more needs to be done, and that the causes need to be addressed as well as the symptoms.

The Labour Government introduced changes to planning law requiring a conversion to multi-occupancy houses (HMOs) to be granted planning permission. This would have allowed the local community some say in whether a conversion should be allowed. Unfortunately, the Coalition government has already overturned that change within six months of gaining power.

Labour also brought in legislation which strengthened the requirement for HMOs to be licensed, and gave local councils more control over HMO licensing. In parts of central Brighton and Hove including this ward, the council is consulting on extending the type of house requiring a licence to include smaller houses of two storeys or more, with three or more occupants.

Licensing and planning is not the whole answer, but we would support tighter controls on HMOs so that local areas can have some influence on the balance of accommodation, and to protect occupants by ensuring conversions are carried out to sufficiently high quality. We would campaign for this if elected as Councillors.

It is important to work with universities, and ensure that they recognise the role that they can play in contributing positively to the community, and that those small numbers of students who are persistently anti-social are held to account. In the longer term, the city needs to take responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate accommodation for students, and that this is factored into our long term planning.

Other towns and cities, for example Leeds, Nottingham, Loughborough and many more, have similar issues with growing numbers of HMOs, and have put in place different measures. We would look outward at other places to see what we can learn from them, and what new ideas we can bring to our city. We would also work closely with the whole community to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard.

We feel that this is one of the biggest issues facing the ward at the moment. It is very important to manage change so that Hanover and Elm Grove remains a pleasant and welcoming place for people of all ages and lifestyles who want to live here.