Student migration to city leaves derelict university ‘heartlands’

Due to an increase in student rooms in large purpose-built complexes, mainly in and around the city centre, student numbers in the city centre have almost doubled to more than 18,500 from 2006 to 2012.

A joint report by Housing charity Unipol Student Homes and the Re’new regeneration charity also suggests more students are living in city centre apartments.

And that a 6,000 reduction in the number of students living in smaller houses was threatening “dereliction” in areas like Headingley, Hyde Park, Kirkstall and Burley.

Headingley resident Rachel Harkess, 68, who organises the Headingley Festival, dismissed the report as “scare mongering”.

But she added: “The general level of the prices are hiked up so much that people can’t buy them. If you compare Headingley with other parts of the city there are lots of young families and teachers that say: ‘I would love to live in Headingley but I can’t afford it.’”

In 2010 nearly 16 per cent of properties in the Headingley, Hyde Park and Woodhouse area advertised through Unipol remained empty, while just under a third of properties were empty in the neighbouring areas.

Coun Martin Hamilton (Lib Dem, Headingley) said the findings were not surprising as landlords were prepared to “mothball” houses in a bid to recover large investments that they made during the property boom.

He said: “I think they (landlords) will struggle to stay in business because if they have got all these debts.

“There is an opportunity for the council or housing associations to have serious discussions with landlords to take them (properties) off their hands.

“And there is an opportunity to be quite hard-nosed about them and buy the houses at a reasonable price to turn them into affordable family homes.”

The report found house prices made properties in the area out of reach of many would-be buyers, while estate agents suggested demand was low and property types and the locality were unattractive to families.

The research also stated it would not be easy to bring empty properties back into use.

It found the situation was made worse as this year there will be between 2,000 and 2,500 fewer students in Leeds with residential requirements, as both city universities had recruited less students.

The report estimates an economic loss of at least £31.5m to the city this coming year alone as a result and that more student houses will remain vacant as the student house market downsizes bed spaces by around a third from 2006 to 2013.

Martin Blakey, chief executive of Unipol Student Homes, said: “It is time to start concentrating on what happens after students leave these areas and I hope the council and local residents will use the research findings as a firm basis on which to conduct a more informed debate on what to do next.

“The authorities have been under pressure for a long time to control the number of students in the area from lobbyists claiming to represent longer-term residents.

“The debate is now likely to shift from too many students to the prospect of under-population and dereliction.”

The report is now being scrutinised by councillors, MPs and other agencies before workshops are set up in the coming months on how best to intervene to secure the area’s future.

Unipol Student Homes is a charity working nationally to improve training and professionalism in student housing.

Re’new is a regeneration charity helping to build communities that work by combining with agencies and setting up projects.

For more details visit www.unipol.org.uk or www.renewleeds.co.uk