Student accommodation has changed the face of the South West property scene and is dramatically altering the balance of accommodation available in Bath, it has been claimed.
Green Park House is one of the latest student developments in Bath
That’s the view of Paul Williams, Head of Agency at Bruton Knowles’ Bristol office, who said the craze to convert secondary or surplus space to student accommodation had fuelled fears that businesses could be squeezed out of some traditional business locations and forced to look elsewhere.
He said: “With four top universities within a twenty mile radius, the impact on Bristol and Bath is far more pronounced than in many comparable urban conurbations.
“The level of demand we are seeing is certainly skewing development patterns and impacting on the commercial landscape, transforming traditional commercial property locations, function and usage.
“The popularity of converting existing commercial space or building on traditionally commercial sites shows little sign of abating.
“Bristol’s office market is the fastest growing of any big city with take-up hitting levels not seen since 2007. Dozens of offices in the city are being converted – on top of the dozens of schemes already approved.”
Recent conversion schemes include a brace of offices on Colston Street and the re-development of the former Bristol Post printworks site.
Plans have also been submitted to build student accommodation above the landmark Labour Exchange building in Bath.
“Businesses in Bath are also being squeezed by fast increasing demand – much of it from the student sector – as sites traditionally used by small artisan employers are being snapped up wherever you look.”
Paul said while Bristol still has the space to absorb this demand without compromising opportunity in other sectors, commercial land supply in Bath is being snapped up at an ever increasing rate.
Amongst the new sites earmarked for student housing are the Hartwells garage site at Newbridge and the old Twerton Mill site on the Lower Bristol Road.
“Although Bath is thriving and continues to pull in the crowds, many of the traditional artisan-type enterprises are finding it hard to maintain a foothold as increasing amounts of commercial property are converted to student accommodation.
“Indeed, Bath’s traditional artisan-style enterprises have virtually disappeared from the Upper and Lower Bristol Roads.
“These sites could join a host of other locations across Bath which have already been converted or are due to be replaced by further student accommodation.
“Bath City planners in particular need to think long and hard whether the increasing number of student accommodation schemes being brought forward are in the best interests of business and also the working population.”
He said the small businesses and artisan enterprises which couldn’t find a spot in were having to look further afield – for instance at the once struggling commercial estates on Bristol’s southern fringe.
“Up and coming locations such as the Temple Meads Enterprise Zone, Temple Studios, Paintworks, Bath Road Studios and the Bottle Yard are triggering something of a renaissance for south Bristol as a commercial property hotspot.
“The area has always boasted a wealth of commercial space and this is once again attracting smaller, artisan-type businesses – some of which have moved in after becoming marginalised by the fast changing commercial scene down the A4.
He concluded: “Although it helped keep our construction sector ticking over during the downturn, the continual conversion of under-utilised sites really has the potential to change the commercial property landscape in the Greater Bristol area.”
