Concern at plans to use student apartments in Cork for tourist accommodation

Almost 170 of the 420 rooms in the Lee Point student apartment complex on South Main St are subject of a potential change-in-use, with the developer seeking to use them as tourist accommodation instead of student apartments. Picture: An interior shot of an apartment in the Lee Point complex, Cork.

There are fears of a post-pandemic oversupply of student accommodation in Cork city after an investment fund linked to the city’s newest student complex applied for permission to use almost 40% of its bedrooms for tourist and visitor accommodation.

Irish Student Fund Cork (IV) has applied to Cork City Council for planning for a temporary change of use of 168 of the 420-rooms in the Lee Point complex on South Main St from January to May next year.

Planning consultants involved in the application were not available for comment but Green Party Cork city councillor Dan Boyle said he believes it is a result of a fall-off in demand from students arising out of the pandemic.

He said “we have a problem” if efforts are already being made to change the planning use of student bedspaces before they are ever used for the original purpose, and that it points to signs of an oversupply.

Earlier this week, city officials revealed that hundreds of student bedspaces are either in construction, including the 225-bedspace complex on the Crow’s Nest site, or in the pipeline, including the following strategic housing development projects:

• a 550-bedspace complex on Bandon Rd which was granted permission earlier this month;
• a 229-bedspace complex at 92-96 North Main Street, where a decision is due in November;
• a 216-bedspace complex on Orchard Road and a 280-bedspace complex on the Square Deal site, where decisions are due next month.
• A 265-bedspace complex at Victoria Cross is at pre-application consultation stage, the city council has granted planning for an 11-bed unit on Beasley Street and for a 17-bed unit at the former Kino Cinema, while its planning for the student complex on the former Coca Cola bottling site on the Carrigrohane Road has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala.

Mr Boyle said: “I have a huge fear that there will be an oversupply of student accommodation and that the market just doesn’t exist in a post Covid situation.

“Student accommodation is a smaller type, an easier type of housing to get through planning.

“The bigger social need is in residential accommodation. We need people living in cities. Their viability depends on more people living there.

“I believe there has been a misallocation of resources on the part of developers in this regard.” 

Student apartments: BAM works on South Main Street, Cork earlier this year. Picture: Larry Cummins

He also defended his party's decision to vote against the adoption of a new Cork city development contributions scheme on Monday which delivered a 50% reduction in development charges on new houses and apartments in a bid to stimulate house building in the city.

He said the party believes enough incentives exist already to stimulate such construction.

“We believe it would be better to refund fees and charges for projects delivered rather than reduce fees for promised projects,” he said.

The Lee Point student apartment development was built by BAM as part of its multi-million Brewery Quarter regeneration of the former Beamish and Crawford site on South Main St.