Collective refocuses Old Oak digs

The Collective, the company spearheading London’s “co-living” revolution, was granted consent by Ealing’s planning committee this week to amend the tenure of its flagship 550-bed Old Oak Common scheme. Current requirements allow for just 30% of the 323 bedrooms (546 bed spaces) to be occupied by young professionals/employed graduates, with the other 70% let to students. This arrangement was secured by reserved matters in 2014, as the original consent from 2011 secured the entire building for student accommodation. The Collective’s new consent will alter the mix yet again, and provide 80% of the units (437 bedspaces) for young professionals and employed graduates, with just the remaining 20% (109 bedspaces) for students. The Collective said the shift is not for financial reasons as the operational rents of non-subsidised student accommodation and the proposed rental package for professionals are the same. Rents for the student accommodation are between £235 and £270 p/w, with the graduate/young professional rooms priced from £220 p/w. The Collective’s website reveals there are nine different variations of rooms, from one-bed flats to others that include shared en suites and kitchenettes. Of the nine styles of flat, just the premium en suite room is still available, demonstrating the demand for the co-living model and the need to switch the student/graduate mix from 70/30 to 20/80 in favour of young professionals. Sarah Christie, development director at the Collective, said: “The shift in tenure will meet a wider range of housing needs. This permission allows us to provide for young professionals who struggle to afford good quality traditional housing products, in line with the huge, and continuously rising, demand in the market for co-living in London. The planning system needs to move towards providing clearer guidance on bringing this innovative and vital concept forward.” Whether this will set a precedent for others to follow whereby student accommodation blocks are “flipped” to become co-living graduate housing, only time will tell. • To send feedback, e-mail paul.wellman@estatesgazette.com or tweet @PaulWellman_EG or @estatesgazette