Student accommodation with over 700 beds gets green light in St Andrews

Fife Council's North East Fife planning committee unanimously approved the major plans from St Andrews University on Wednesday afternoon.

The new student halls will be built on the site of Albany Park, the outdated 1970s accommodation at East Sands which was demolished in 2020, and they will provide a total of 703 bedrooms.

“There is a significant shortage of purpose-built student accommodation in St Andrews. The proposed development will provide a positive solution to this problem in the town, on a site identified and established for that use which also has the benefit of an extant planning permission. This in turn will help alleviate the housing pressures on the St Andrews and East Fife area,” a planning statement explained.

The proposed development is part of a series of significant investments designed to provide additional purpose-built accommodation for students over the next few years. The university was previously granted permission for a similar development across a larger site area in 2021. However, developers said the pandemic, worldwide economic downturn and the subsequent hike in the cost of building materials made St Andrews’ original plans for the site unfeasible.

Developers have since made some changes to their plans and are seeking permission once more. The revised designs have increased the number of student beds the development would provide from 672 to 703. Over 30% of the bedrooms at Albany Park will be standard rooms which offer a lower price point from the en-suite rooms.

With planning permission in place, work on the development is expected to begin in Spring 2024.