St Andrews proposes new plan for student digs

The University of St Andrews is to submit a planning application for a 960-bed development of student accommodation at Albany Park.

It will carry out public consultation about the scheme ahead of submitting the application. The new proposal would see 200 more beds than had been proposed in an earlier proposal, which was refused by Fife Council planners mainly due to concerns about flood risk.

The proposed development is the centrepiece of a £70m investment in student accommodation to create 1,100 new bedrooms over and above the 4,000 that the University already provides.

The new planning application, which is expected to be submitted to Fife Council next month, aims to mitigate the flooding concerns raised by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and other objectors and looks to retain and refurbish Woodburn House and part of the Woodburn complex. It will also preserve a group of trees located in the north west corner of the site.

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A public consultation event will be held next week at which representatives of the project design team, the University and the development partner Campus Living Villages will outline the new plans for Albany Park, answer questions and hear views from the public.

University quaestor Derek Watson said: “The development at Albany Park is key to the University’s strategy to provide more student accommodation for our students and ease the pressure on the housing stock in St Andrews.

“We welcome the comments made by Fife Council in rejecting the earlier planning application and have revised our plans to increase the number of beds by around 200 which will further improve the overall supply of accommodation in St Andrews.”