Go-ahead for new student accommodation in Edinburgh questioned as universities expect drop in numbers

The student accommodation will fill a gap site left by the closure of a petrol station

Opportunity to look at more affordable housing, says MSP

APPROVAL of plans for purpose-built accommodation for 141 students at Abbeyhill has been criticised as “premature” amid uncertainty over students numbers as a result of Covid.

Lothian Labour MSP Sarah Boyack said there was an opportunity to think afresh about providing more affordable housing but instead it seemed there was a return to “business as usual”.

The new block, proposed by Edinburgh-based property company Glencairn Properties, will fill a gap site in Montrose Terrace where a Shell petrol station stood before being forced to close after a fuel leak in 2011.

Ms Boyack said: “The pandemic is an opportunity to reassess what residents want for the city.

“We should be looking at developing more affordable housing, sustainable and community-led development for Edinburgh and identifying a ‘new normal’. Instead, it appears we are simply returning to ‘business as usual’.”

The developers said the new accommodation would “support the growth ambitions” of the universities and colleges in Edinburgh as major drivers of the local economy.