Application lodged to let student flats to public

Managers of a struggling block of student flat are seeking to be able to rent rooms to members of the public.

Paradise Student Village, a 1,040-bed site just outside Coventry city centre, opened its doors six years ago.

But since 2020 a fifth of the development has been empty, rising to more than a third in the last academic year.

Managers Axos Student Living have asked Coventry City Council if they can use rooms in the building for short-term lets after hundreds of rooms were left empty.

In an application to Coventry City Council, the company said it wanted to be able to let rooms to non-students for up to three months at a time.

Axos Student Living warned the problem could cause financial difficulties which could force the building to be sold or closed.

They also stressed that only unused rooms in one block would be leased to the public, with students living in separate flats and floors to those not in full time education.

Plans lodged earlier this year have revealed other student accommodation sites in the city that opened in the last few years were struggling to fill rooms.

Council reports claimed demand for the housing has slumped due to the pandemic and too much student accommodation in the city.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.