BRIGHTON and Hove will still have need for 1,700 more student rooms even after all current purpose-built private schemes and a £150 million university expansion are completed, a developer has said.

Nick Scott, development director at CKC Properties which has two live planning applications for more than 260 student rooms around the Vogue Gyratory, said the city remained under supplied for student accommodation despite significant investment in purpose-built facilities in recent years.

Concerns have been raised how much of that additional demand will be met in the Lewes Road corridor which residents already fear is being consumed by “studentification”.

Applications have been submitted for more than 500 privately managed student rooms around the Vogue Gyratory in the past three years in addition to the University of Brighton’s own plans for more than 800 student rooms at Preston Barracks.

Ward councillor Michael Inkpin-Leissner has called for the two universities to provide sufficient housing on their own campuses for their students throughout their study time.

University bosses said it was impractical for both universities to house their combined 35,000 students and that no other university in the country currently did.

London-based CKC has plans to build 189 student rooms on the site of The Lectern pub in Pelham Terrace and 88 at the site of a motorcycle dealership in Hollingdean Road.

Previous plans for nine student rooms for the latter site were rejected in May 2016 for various reasons including a lack of accommodation management and because it was considered an overdevelopment of the site. The current proposals, which developers have modelled on an “Oxbridge college quad”, have already been modified following discussion with council officers with the highest block of seven storeys reduced to five.

Mr Scott said: “There is a massive under supply of student rooms in Brighton. Even given the U+I development [at Preston barracks], there will still be an under supply of 1,700 rooms for students who currently live at home, in HMOs or struggle to find something.

“It has taken a long time for purpose-built student accommodation to come to Brighton, mainly because of the typography of Brighton and a shortage of appropriate sites.”

Mr Scott said there was a debate to be had on whether it was more desirable to have student houses spread wider around the city which could increase congestion or focused in one particular area.

He said CKC had chosen the two sites close to the Vogue Gyratory because of strong transport links and proximity to the universities.

Mr Scott said one of the benefits of purpose-built schemes would mean HMOs would be released back to the general housing stock.

Cllr Inkpin-Leissner had concerns about the amount of student housing in and around his Hollingdean and Stanmer ward.

He said: “The universities should be responsible to supply living space for its students not just for their first year but for the whole of their time studying. That is how it works in other countries. If they want to expand then they need to provide the rooms.”

A University of Sussex spokesman said it was expanding student housing to its own university accommodation portfolios, already one of the largest in the UK, to 7,000 beds by 2020.

He added: “Students want to enjoy living in Brighton for some of the time and we believe communities work best when people from all walks of life live side by side. We absolutely appreciate the complex housing environment here and are actively involved with politicians and residents’ groups on how we can work together.”