Correct however Warwick Uni student numbers have remained largely static allowing them to continue to house a large percentage of students in onsite halls of residence.
Coventry Uni's numbers have sky rocketed and their aim is for that to continue. They have very little of their own accommodation and are of course based in the city centre meaning their expansion has a much greater impact on housing in the wider community.
That these sites have been empty for so long is down to the failure of CCC to bring investment into the city. As much as there are claims that businesses like Wagamama come to Coventry because of the high student numbers we lag behind. There's many chains heavily frequented by students that don't have any outlets in the city centre. At the same time the student demographic harms any attempt to bring in higher end stores.
The only reason developers build so much student accommodation is because they are allowed to get away with cheap, poor quality builds. They then cram as many rooms in as possible with shared facilities giving them a much greater number of rooms to let than they could achieve building to the standard required by the residents of the city.
To be clear I think both Universities are great for the city but there needs to be a better plan moving forward than the current piecemeal approach that is allowing every site and building to become a university, or university affiliated, site.
"failure of CCC to bring investment into the city"
"because of the high student numbers we lag behind"
"the student demographic harms any attempt to bring in higher end stores"
"they are allowed to get away with cheap, poor quality builds."
"allowing every site and building to become a university, or university affiliated, site"
I'd be interested to see the basis of these comments.
Investment has been brought to the city (RDM Group, expansion of London Taxi company, Wasps, Fargo, numerous restaurants, JLR) but like other areas online shopping and retail parks have impacted on the usage of the city/town centre.
With regards higher end stores, the overall demographic of the city doesn't justify such companies making such a move at this stage (
http://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/20712/headline_statistics_-_june_2016)
The comments about students causing us to lag behind? If that was the case surely all city's with universities would be in the same situation?
The fact is Coventry is a relatively small city and for some whatever the council do will be criticised.
Also, the comment about the build quality of these developments - have you been to any of these sites?
Coventry University are investigating in the city, helping create jobs, helping local businesses, developing spaces, bringing new facilities for all residents to use within the complexs.
Also, I've had a look online for details of student accommodation apps that have been rejected solely due to studentification as detailed in one of your posts but couldn't find anything - if you could point me in the right direction I'd like to have a read, as under the remits in place don't see how this would be possible.
