A five-storey development of student flats has been proposed for construction on Dawlish Road in Selly Oak.  If the application is approved by Birmingham City Council, the accommodation will be built on the site of an ex-servicemen’s club and will offer 186 beds in cluster apartments and studios.

The application was made by Solihull-based Madison Construction and Birmingham City Council is expected to make a decision within the next few months.  

This is the latest in a number of plans for new purpose-built student accommodation in Selly Oak.  In September, Birmingham City Council approved a different proposal for the building of new student accommodation on Selly Hill Road.  The development will offer 57 beds in 15 apartments.

This proposal by C. Faulkner and Sons argued that there was a need for more student flats to be built in Selly Oak because there were around 28,900 students at the University of Birmingham, but only 11,042 purpose-built beds available to them.  This means that 62 per cent of students needed to find alternative accommodation. 

Initially, the council turned down this application, citing parking issues, lack of demand and over-intensity of the scheme.  However, the proposal was approved after being made to the committee a second time. 

According to Birmingham Mail, committee members opposing this proposal included Councillor Gareth Moore, who claimed that ‘the assumption that everyone has to live in purpose-built accommodation is flawed.’  He went on to say that the building of student accommodation has ‘destroyed the character’ of Selly Oak. 

After their first year, many UoB students choose to live in privately rented houses in Selly Oak.  A second year English student told Redbrick: ‘I’d rather live in a house with other students than in student flats.’ She argued that purpose-built student flats are often ‘cheaply built’ so are likely to have many problems, and are ‘less social’ than a house. 

Some UoB students had further concerns about the building of new student flats.  One PhD student commented: ‘the issue with purpose-built accommodation over housing is that it’s naturally exploitative with high prices that mean people from lower-middle class and working class backgrounds simply can’t afford them. It’s an obvious money making scheme that rarely considers the economic issues facing students.’

In 2017, Redbrick reported that 49% of Selly Oak’s residents were aged between 18 and 24. Many UoB students reside in Selly in HMOs (House in Multiple Occupation), which refers to a building or flat where three or more unrelated persons are living together.  Although many of Selly Oak’s students attend the University of Birmingham, some attend Aston University or Birmingham City University.