Green light for Selly Oak student rooms despite university's objections

Writing to the council’s planning committee ahead of the meeting, the university objected ‘on the grounds that area is over-saturated with purpose-built student accommodation'.

“It will apply further pressure to infrastructure and local services, marginalises non-student residents, harms community cohesion, adds to waste issues and queries the affordability and mix of accommodation types,” the objection stated, with several local residents also against the plans.

The matter was raised in the meeting by Councillor Gareth Moore, who questioned how there could be a need for more student accommodation if the university itself did not see a need for it.

“I was quietly surprised when reading the report because within the objections there’s obviously one from the University of Birmingham itself,” he said.

“And they object on the grounds that the area is over-saturated with purpose-built student accommodation.

“Clearly there needs to be a need for student accommodation and, if the university that the accommodation would serve has objected on the basis that there’s an over-saturation, then how is that need being met?

“I don’t understand how that works, because if the university doesn’t see a need for it then clearly we shouldn’t be supporting it, particularly when there’s a need for actual affordable houses.”

The proposals would see both the ex-servicemen’s club and 133 Dawlish Road demolished and replaced with a 182-bedroom student block which would house varying sizes of studio apartments as well as a communal lounge, gym, yoga studio and a pilates room.

They were voted through by the committee despite the letter from the university – with an officer for the council explaining that permission had already been granted for the site and that the committee were simply deciding whether to allow the addition of four extra units.

“I think the key thing to emphasise is that we’ve already granted permission for 178 on this site, which they could start building tomorrow, so we’re talking about four additional units, which is a tiny number,” he said.

“I think it’s also important to remember that, on the recent appeal decision at the Selly Oak triangle, the inspector accepted there was a need for further purpose-built accommodation and that was over 1,000 in that case."