'Cooling' student flats market could be delaying Debenhams revamp

Developers are hoping to deliver around 500 student flats at the iconic Old Market Square building

A Nottingham economic expert insists there will still be ‘the need’ for student accommodation in the city as debate over the issue appears to be delaying progress on the iconic Debenhams building.

NottinghamshireLive and the Nottingham Post launched our ‘Save the Debenhams Building’ campaign in January, calling for clarity from the building’s owners on when we can finally expect to see some progress at the site.

Nottingham’s Debenhams branch closed in May 2021, and, nearly five years on, the site is in its longest period of inactivity since Robert and Edward Dickinson first opened their drapery store in 1846.

Nottinghamshire Live previously reported that in a private December 2024 meeting developers outlined a broad vision for the Debenhams building to house luxury apartments, including in a new building towards the rear of the site.

It then became apparent that these apartments could be used for student accommodation, and, according to a city council map, those units could have originally been ready for the academic year starting in September 2027, though this was then pushed back to 2028.

Further details from that December 2024 meeting then emerged, including that developers were planning for accommodation to occupy the entire site above ground level.

This would mean the creation of around 500 units of accommodation, while the ground floor would be used for a mixture of retail and hospitality uses.

Yet the plans have been presented in the context of Councillor Neghat Khan, Nottingham City Council’s leader, having repeatedly said that demand for student accommodation has now ‘cooled’.

Graham Woodward, the chairman of the Nottingham Civic Society, suggested the challenging student accommodation picture could be behind the delays on progress for the Debenhams site.

He said: “There’s a lot of conversation about student accommodation.

“Many people say we haven’t got enough student accommodation because there’s still around 40,000 living in HMOs, but there’s some who say that the student population is now in decline.”

Yet Professor William Rossiter, a director at the Nottingham Business School, says the challenges faced by the Debenhams owners are much broader and, in terms of student accommodation, he said developments would still likely come forward.

He said: “There has been a lot of provision in recent years of student accommodation, but, bear in mind, you’ve got two of the country’s largest universities in the city.

“There is still going to be the need for student accommodation. I’m not close enough to that issue to know how accurate or not that perception of the city council leader is.

“But that idea of a mixed-use scheme that combines aspects of student accommodation with other uses may be quite a sensible approach.”

The challenge of student accommodation demand is undeniable though and, earlier this year, when £300 million was wiped off the value of student housing provider Unite Group, the company said falling demand was concentrated in cities like Nottingham.

Nottingham’s chief planner previously told NottinghamshireLive that the situation actually presents an ‘opportunity’ to further increase the quality of accommodation and reduce the pressure on Nottingham’s housing market.

Yet he also compared the Debenhams site to plans for student accommodation at the historic former police and fire station by the Guildhall, suggesting the latter could be a better option.

Paul Seddon said: “They’re conversions of tricky heritage buildings, both of which would have an element of new-build.

“One of them is virtually part of NTU’s campus and its locational advantage is really strong. Debenhams is slightly not there, so I think it will be that kind of balancing that operators and developers will be looking at.

“How strong is the location? How strong is that demand likely to be? I think they will be more discerning on that.”

Even the police and fire station student accommodation plans are proving a challenge, too, with the University of Nottingham saying earlier this year that it could not support the development given the changing picture on demand.

The Debenhams site was first bought by Long Row Properties Limited in 2017, on the assumption that the Debenhams store would provide a continuous income stream, a belief that proved short-lived when Nottingham’s branch closed in May 2021.

Longmead Capital now manage the site on behalf of Long Row Properties and Ed Tuckett, from the company, previously acknowledged the challenge around student accommodation by saying: “The former Debenhams store is an iconic Nottingham building and we are working hard to find the best solution for its future use.

“It is a complicated site and we are collaborating with the city council planning department around our proposals.”

Our campaign is calling for a clear timeframe from Longmead Capital on when the public can finally expect to see some official plans lodged with Nottingham City Council – something that has never happened to date – but the company has remained tight-lipped so far.