ST ANDREWS TOWN COMMISSION on HOUSING HOUSING NEED AND HOUSING PRESSURES IN ST ANDREWS St Andrews, Fife December 2013 Housing Need and Housing Pressures in St Andrews St Andrews Town Commission on Housing Chair: Dr James B Walker St Andrews, Fife December 2013 ISBN 978-0-9927714-0-9 Published by St Andrews Town Commission on Housing www.satcoh.blogspot.co.uk ISBN 978-0-9927714-0-9 © 2013 St Andrews Town Commission on Housing 4 Queen’s Gardens St Andrews KY16 9TA Fife Scotland UK Printed by: Print & Design, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9AX CONTENTS Foreword and Acknowledgements ................................................................ iv Executive Summary ...................................................................................... v Abbreviations ................................................................................................ vi PART I. INTRODUCTION 1. Objectives and Structure of the Report ................................................. 3 2. Data Collection and Evidence Gathering ............................................... 5 3. Profile of St Andrews ............................................................................. 11 PART II. REPORT & ANALYSIS 4. Introduction to the Issues ...................................................................... 29 5. Affordable Housing ................................................................................ 37 6. Student Accommodation ........................................................................ 45 7. Addressing Need and Alleviating Pressure ........................................... 61 PART III. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS 8. Conclusions & Recommendations ......................................................... 75 References ................................................................................................... 81 Appendices ................................................................................................... 86 Foreword and Acknowledgements It has long been recognised that St Andrews has significant housing problems which arise from a variety of causes including, importantly, (i) scarcity of affordable housing and (ii) pressure on accommodation from University students who represent an unusually high proportion of the local population; these two aspects became the natural focus of this study. In 2012, several local organisations met and resolved to promote a serious study of the housing situation in the town. This group comprised local Fife Councillors, the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council, the University of St Andrews, the University of St Andrews Students’ Association, The St Andrews Preservation Trust and the Confederation of St Andrews Residents’ Associations (CSARA). They agreed to constitute themselves as the St Andrews Town Commission on Housing Reference Group and, in turn, to appoint an autonomous team, the St Andrews Town Commission on Housing, whose members would bring a wide range of experience and skill to the study and could be relied upon to be independent in their work1. This Report would not exist but for the initiative taken by the Reference Group. They have been wholly supportive, particularly in securing the modest funding required for the Commission’s work, but has at no time influenced or sought to influence the studies or conclusions contained in this Report other than through formal representations, all of which are detailed in the body of the Report or its Appendices. Thanks for funding are due to The St Andrews Preservation Trust, particularly for providing bridging funds during the early stages of the study, to the St Andrews Common Good Fund, to the University and, especially, two generous donors who wish to remain anonymous. The University has generously covered the cost of all printing. The Commission is grateful to Mrs Flora Selwyn, who facilitated circulation of the questionnaire, to all those who completed questionnaires, whether on paper or electronically and to management and staff at the Public Library, the Cosmos Centre, the Students’ Association, the Fife Council Office at St Mary’s Place and the St Andrews Community Hospital for permitting boxes for the return of completed questionnaires to be placed on their premises. Ms Emma Shaw and Ms Emily Hearn are thanked for their efforts in analysing the content of the completed questionnaires and Dr Zhiqiang Feng for his assistance with the mapping of data zones. Thanks are also due to both the Housing & Neighbourhood Services and the Private Sector Regulation Division of Fife Council as well as National Records of Scotland, for their provision of information and prompt response to questions. It is also greatly appreciated that so many individuals and organisations made written submissions to the Commission to present their perspectives on the town’s housing situation. Finally, meetings were held with the Confederation of St Andrews Residents’ Associations, Fife Council (Housing and Planning Divisions), local Fife Councillors, Headon Developments, Kingdom Housing Association, Old Course Hotel, Robertson Homes, St Andrews Community Council, The St Andrews Preservation Trust, the Students’ Association and the University of St Andrews. The Commission acknowledges with gratitude the time and effort that all put into making the meetings so informative. 1 Dr James B Walker (Chair), Mr Simon Kidd (Secretary), Professor Joe Doherty, Mr Iain Grant, Mr John F Matthews. The assistance of Dr Pauline McLoughlin as a member of the Commission in the early stages of this study is gratefully acknowledged. For brief information on each of the above see Appendix A.6. iv Executive Summary In 2012 a group of local organisations resolved to promote a serious study of the housing situation in the town. To carry out this task, they established the ‘St Andrews Town Commission on Housing’ composed of people who would bring a wide range of experience and skill to the study and could be relied on to be independent in their work. The objective was to identify and examine housing need and housing pressures in St Andrews, how these are currently being met and how they might be better met in the future. The Commission gathered evidence from a questionnaire (circulated to the student community and town households) and from interviews with local organisations, town residents, the University, Fife Council and a variety of housing providers. We also interrogated census and local authority demographic and housing data and conducted a survey of published literature and documentary sources. From this evidence it became apparent that two issues overrode all others, (i) scarcity of affordable housing and (ii) pressure on accommodation from University students who represent an unusually high proportion of the town’s population. These became the focus for the study. In building towards our recommendations we investigated trends in the demographic composition of St Andrews and changes in housing tenure and housing costs. We examined aspects of the local housing market, especially in relation to housing and planning policies. We further examined the difficulties that local residents, including students, have relating to house purchase and rent. We focused in some detail on the provision and scarcity of affordable housing, exploring the impact of ‘Right to Buy’, the absence of public investment over the recent past, and the prospective role of the private sector (through planning obligations). These investigations confirmed and reinforced the Council’s designation of St Andrews as the most pressured housing area in Fife. They further identified the urgent need for the development of a strategic housing plan for the town and the potential of the Kilrymont site of Madras College, when it becomes available, as a location for affordable investment. Our examination of ‘studentification’ (the process by which specific neighbourhoods become dominated by student residential occupation) identified the concentration of student HMOs in the centre of St Andrews, the escalating impact of this concentration on house and rental prices and the difficulties it creates for town residents and newcomers wishing to purchase or rent property in the town. While recognising the opposing views of many students and local residents, we concluded that if these problems were to be effectively addressed the scope of the present HMO moratorium needs to be expanded in the context of an increase in the provision of student residential accommodation by both private developers and by the University. From analysis of all the information and evidence, the summary of our recommendations is inter alia: (i) that Fife Council examine the specific housing needs of St Andrews and develop a strategy for housing in the town; (ii) that Fife Council, in collaboration with the St Andrews community, address the immediate need for affordable accommodation and actively pursue the building of affordable houses on the Kilrymont site of Madras College when it becomes available, and develop this site in tandem with the extant proposals for the development of St Andrews West; (iii) that Fife Council determine, in collaboration with the St Andrews community, an appropriate yardstick for student housing density and, meantime, give serious consideration to extending the HMO moratorium geographically to embrace the whole town and to imposing restrictions on the renewal of HMO licences; (iv) that the private provision of student ‘halls’ of residence be supported, and that the University