By Bilal Ahmed, Founder and Executive Chairman of Sama Investment Group
As always, August has been a major month in the calendar for young people across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with thousands of pupils finding out their A-level results.
With this milestone comes the latest influx of students to our growing educational institutions, as a demand for higher education continues to rise with the number of UK 18-year-olds and international students applying for a place at university or college increasing to 316,850 in 2024.
This figure represents just a fraction of the millions of students currently in the UK higher educational system. However, combined with this rise of people attending our educational institutions has been an inevitable growth in demand for student accommodation.
The emergence of PBSA
To help alleviate this challenge has been the emergence of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), which offers a solution that creates widespread benefits not only for students, but the wider community.
For students and their families it presents a whole new style of living and assurance, providing excellent conditions and a range of accommodation styles which can be complemented by amenities including communal study areas, social spaces, gyms, outdoor areas, and professional management services.
This is also excellent for students’ social and mental wellbeing, with PBSAs shown to have a promising impact on student performance.
Finally, many purpose-built student accommodations (PBSA) include utility bills in the rental fee, alleviating one additional financial concern for students.
Boosting the local economy
Alongside this are benefits for the community. With a reported 35% of students relying on HMOs in cities as a place to live, this is placing a strain on local housing for families. Quality student living space releases these homes for others.
PBSA can also support the local economy. One example of this is through the delivery of retail and commercial spaces within PBSA developments. These spaces provide an avenue to invite the wider community in and help create strong ties to those locally and value for all.
The results are beneficial both socially and economically. For example, at our approved Garrison Circus scheme in Digbeth, Birmingham, we are bringing forward plans which incorporate independent shops, cafes, and a dedicated space to support the local arts industry as part of a large student-led regeneration scheme.
Through the delivery of spaces such as this, we will help create a link to Digbeth’s strengths as a centre for culture and creativity. Active frontages can also significantly improve people’s perceptions of public spaces and their safety, comfort, sociability and liveliness. Meanwhile, it provides an excellent way to generate or support local jobs and businesses in the community.
Jobs and customers
PBSA can provide an injection of new customers into an area as well as grow the workforce talent pool with many students looking for part-time work to sustain themselves through their time studying.
Lastly, a knock-on benefit of all PBSA is that it supports the regeneration of brownfield sites, with very few other sectors that this focus applies to more readily to than PBSA providers, with much of the activity centred around towns and cities.
At Sama Investments, we are proud to be specialists in finding brownfield sites across Britain’s regions and regenerating them through responsible, sustainable developments, creating quality student accommodation alongside widespread community value.