Bath MP Don Foster can reveal that the latest figures show that there has been an increase of almost 200 homes in Bath and North East Somerset that are lived in by students. 

Commenting, Don said, “This time last year there were 1976 students homes in the local authority, now that has risen to 2154, an increase of almost 200.  These are homes that could be housing residents of Bath who are currently struggling to get on the property ladder.  They are homes in the most affordable areas of our city. 

Despite the fact that this is clearly an issue, the Government will not let us solve it within the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).  If purpose built student accommodation could count towards the target then we could free up these homes for local families. 

Don stated that he would continue to lobby the Government to change the rules so that purpose built student accommodation can count towards the target. 

The Government has suggested allowing local Councils to use planning restraint policies and ‘Use Class Orders’ to control concentrations of HMOs and to help create more balanced, sustainable communities. 

What we need are the practical tools to be able to achieve this, and allowing purpose built student accommodation to count towards the RSS target would be a great start.