Stirling Council receives application for new student accommodation

Stirling Council has received an application for a potential new student residence in the centre of the city.

The proposal, submitted by McLaren (Stirling) Ltd, is for a 153-bedroom building located on a 0.01 hectare site at 14-16 Dumbarton Road, behind New Look on Port Street and east of the Allan Park South Church. The building would be located behind a section of Stirling’s town walls, which are a designated Ancient Monument.

According to the briefing note sent as part of the application, the new student residence would include a “common room, manager’s office, gym, cinema room and laundry facilities, with associated access and landscaping”.

Each of the 153 bedrooms would be en-suite, and located in apartments ranging in size between single studios and 6-bedroom “cluster flats”.

There would be no car parking development, although the potential development does include two disabled spaces and “extensive cycle storage”. The design and access statement refers to “covered parking […] for 50 student bicycles, 10 visitors and 10 next bikes with space for a potential future addition.”

The residence would be operated by CRM, the UK’s largest independent student accommodation provider, who do not currently operate any residences for Stirling University.

In the briefing note, McLaren pointed towards the increasing reliance of Houses in Multiple Occupations (HMOs) among students, and the prevalence of students living with their parents, as evidence for the necessity of new student accommodation.

A report by Savills, included as part of the application submission, found that there are currently only 2,908 rooms for the university’s 9,225 full-time students.

In terms of the University’s support for such a development, McLaren wrote: “The University are very supportive of new accommodation in the city centre to complement their own provision and to add to the overall attraction of Stirling.”

Speaking to Brig, incoming Union President Astrid Smallenbroek said: “There is an accommodation shortage for students, so I think that more places for students to stay within Stirling is fantastic.

“Hopefully, we can work with the developers of the new property to ensure that students’ needs are being met and their voices are being heard.”

Calling the news “interesting” on his Facebook page, new VP Communities Jamie Grant wrote: “Anything that increases capacity is welcome, although I’m sure opening a dialogue between the developers and Union would ensure the student demographic has a voice in this, especially when it comes to rent prices.”

You can browse the full application, including floor plans, statistical reports and briefings via the council website here.

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