Recent PBSA Planning Activity

As we bid a fond farewell to 2024, our attention turns to 2025, and what it may have in store for the UK student accommodation industry. 2024 was an interesting year for the market, with fortunes varying dramatically between cities and schemes. Uncertainty was (and still is) rife, driven by unknowns such as international student visas and the looming Renters’ Rights Bill.

Despite this, for PBSA investors and developers, hope springs eternal. This blog takes a look back at planning activity in 2024, the flurry of submissions and approvals in the last four months of the year, and analyses the current crop of outstanding applications.

All data accurate up to 16/12/2024.

Source: StuRents, all relevant local authorities

The above chart shows how many PBSA planning applications were submitted each month in 2024, and how many beds they equate to. After a spring/summer high of 19 applications in April and more than 6,500 beds in June, activity dipped, with just 1,460 beds put forward in August. Submissions picked up again in the final four months of the year, with more than 15,000 beds put forward across 48 applications.

Source: StuRents, all relevant local authorities

The pattern is similar for PBSA planning applications approved in 2024, with over 4,000 beds across 16 approvals in April (not to mention over 5,400 beds in January) preceding a slump over the summer. Likewise, activity picked up in the last four months of the year, with 44 approvals set to supply more than 10,000 beds.

Source: StuRents, all relevant local authorities

Focusing on activity recorded between September and December, the above chart breaks down the number of submitted applications by location, focusing on the top 10 cities. Glasgow recorded 10 submitted applications during this period, totalling 5,100 beds. This is just short of London’s 5,200 beds across 8 applications. Birmingham also recorded significant activity, where 1,600 beds were proposed across two applications.

Source: StuRents, all relevant local authorities

There were also sizeable approvals in Glasgow during this period; 1,800 beds across four applications. Another four approvals in Belfast will supply 2,300 beds, however both of these markets are dwarfed by the 2,700 beds across 7 approvals in London.

Source: StuRents, all relevant local authorities

Looking ahead, the above chart shows the 10 locations with the largest pipeline of applications that are awaiting a decision. Leveraging StuRents’ database of planning activity from 2016 onwards, we can forecast (to the nearest whole number) how many of each locations’ outstanding applications are likely to be approved, based on the ratio of approved applications to total closed applications, displayed here as a percentage.

Source: StuRents, all relevant local authorities

Those historic approval ratios can be used to forecast an upper and lower bound for how many beds may be delivered from each locations’ outstanding applications, shown in the chart above. For example, Glasgow has 21 outstanding applications, with 16 of those likely to be approved due to their 76% historic approval ratio. The 16 largest applications would represent 7,900 beds (upper bound), while the 16 smallest applications would represent 4,600 beds (lower bound).

In summary, the PBSA sector ended 2024 with a notable increase in planning submissions and approvals, particularly in key cities like Glasgow, London, and Belfast. With a significant pipeline of outstanding applications, 2025 is set to be a year of continued activity and development for student accommodation across the UK.