Purpose-built Student Accommodation London Plan Guidance

Publication type: Draft for consultation

Consultation start date: Thursday 19th October 2023

End date: Thursday 11th January 2024

A key objective of the London Plan is to provide the homes that London needs. This includes delivering appropriate levels of purpose-build student accommodation (PBSA), including affordable student accommodation, as part of a more inclusive London.

As well as providing students with a place to live, PBSA can play an important role in alleviating pressures on the wider private rental sector. Indirectly its provision also helps underpin London’s higher education sector as a global player, and the wider knowledge economy of the city.

The London Plan 2021 recognises that good growth requires careful cultivation, balancing competing pressures and driving up the quality of development of buildings and surrounding spaces. It embeds important mechanisms to ensure proportionate PBSA provision, and to deliver affordable student accommodation, as well as to ensure PBSA contributes to – rather than undermines - mixed and inclusive neighbourhoods. However, it can remain challenging to navigate different interpretations of what this means in practice, slowing down the delivery of these important objectives.

Work started on the draft guidance earlier in the year. It has been developed using the expertise of the Mayor’s London Plan team and engagement with the Mayor’s Academic Forum and follow-up sub-groups. This has included representatives of universities, student housing providers and wider development industry, and London’s local planning authorities. It has been prepared in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty and an Equality Impact Assessment has been produced.

The consultation will be open until 11th January 2024.

During this time, we have various events planned and an online survey for you to let us know your views. More information can be found by visiting the ‘events’  or ‘survey’ section of our consultation page.

All feedback will be reviewed and a consultation summary document will be published alongside the final guidance.

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You can email the team on: [email protected]