Preston student accommodation operator applies for change of use

The operator of a student accommodation facility in Preston wants its tenants to be able to stay on once they have graduated and got a job.

The firm behind the Jubilee Court site, on Fylde Road, is also seeking permission for key workers like nurses, teachers and council staff to be able to move in.

It claims the market for student flats in the city is saturated and says the oversupply of properties has caused its own occupancy rate to fall over the last five years.

Fylde Road Management Company Limited (FRMC) has told Preston City Council the proposed changes to its 246-capacity development – which opened in 2016 – are necessary in order to ensure it remains sustainable.

In an application lodged with town hall planners, the firm says while demand from students – whom it wants to retain as its core customers – has fallen, it is having to turn away others who would like to live in its premises or to continue to be able to do so.

“Jubilee Court’s on-site office receives multiple enquiries each week for accommodation, mainly from young professionals who have recently graduated or are looking for cost-effective housing solutions,” a planning statement explains.

“In addition to the walk-in enquiries, approximately one third of the current student tenants enquire about staying at the accommodation following graduation.

“This [would] provide a platform for graduated students to access the local jobs market or provide a bridge for further education. The accommodation is also well suited to young professional key workers who want to work locally and take advantage of the very sustainable location close to the local public transport infrastructure.”

Under the plans, graduates would be able to stay at the site for up to two years after completing their studies.

The accommodation is made up of 44 flats, with clusters of five or six rooms sharing a kitchen and dining area, along with 20 ‘studio bedsits’.

If its proposal is approved, FRMC says key workers and students would not be permitted to share the same space, with block 3 on the site being reserved for those established in the workplace.  However, graduate tenants already living in Jubilee Court would be allowed to “remain within their social groups in their existing rooms and blocks”.

The company claims it is at “an economic disadvantage” compared to similar, more recent developments in Preston which are not limited to accepting only students – as well as to other facilities which have successfully applied to have the rules governing them changed.

FRMC says in its application that while there was a shortage of accommodation for University of Central Lancashire students in Preston in the early 2010s, the institution acknowledged at the time that developments in the pipeline could ultimately lead to a “surplus of supply”.