The 500-bed Freestone Island development scheme in the Temple Meads area of Bristol was originally timetabled to open by September next year, but delays in gaining key Gateway 2 approval to start construction have now pushed the project back by around a year.

Joe Lister, Unite chief executive, said this morning that new supply of purpose built student accommodation had been hit by a perfect storm of planning delays, cost inflation and now fire safety regulator delay.

“New supply of PBSA is also down 60% on pre-pandemic levels, reflecting viability challenges created by higher costs of construction and funding as well as planning backlogs and time required to secure Building Safety Act approvals.

“Planning timescales remain protracted due to limited planning resource for local authorities, resulting in longer delivery programmes which challenge viability.

“We expect the combination of complex planning, increasing regulation, and higher build and funding costs to restrict the delivery of new supply for several years,” he warned.

He added that even once the initial backlogs were cleared for fire safety regulator gateway approvals programmes would be extended by the Building Safety Act.

“We expect these gateways will add around six months to PBSA development programmes once embedded, putting pressure on returns and further slowing new supply. Our appraisals and delivery targets reflect the expected impact of the Act.”

Lister said that viability challenges meant that weekly rents now need to be at least £200 for new PBSA development outside of London, meaning there was presently little prospect of new supply in many markets.