Section 2
37. Paragraph 2.18: Purpose-built student accommodation and other forms of shared housing. If you have any comments, please add them here.
The needs of London’s student population and its general non-student population can complement each other and go hand in hand. Many of the pressures and issues that come with living in the city are shared across the groups, for example the cost of living.
According to data London Higher received from Jenevieve Treadwell, Policy Fellow at the London School of Economics’ School of Public Policy, London’s PBSA is currently clustered in central boroughs such as Camden, Islington and Southwark, in proximity to university clusters such as the Bloomsbury/Strand area. PBSA is becoming increasingly expensive, with average prices increasing from £11,500 in 2022/23 to £13,595 in 2024/25, exceeding the amount that can be funded with the maximum student maintenance loan. This issue is more serious in private PBSA than university-run accommodation. This is likely a contributing factor to more London students choosing to live in private, shared renting accommodation compared to their peers around the country (for example at Imperial and the University of Greenwich, half of students live in private, shared rented accommodation). Roughly 15% of London’s students (numbering just under half a million) live in PBSA.
An increased supply of affordable rooms would make PBSA an affordable option for more of London’s students, freeing up private rental accommodation for the general community. Treadwell’s research estimates around 10% of residents in the borough of Camden are students; so allowing more students to live in high-density, affordable PBSA developments would free up private flats for the general rental market. Students’ and the general population’s ability to thrive in a community does not need to be a zero sum game. It should also be acknowledged that the boundary between the student and general population is fluid; many London students lived here before entering higher education, and London is also a ‘sticky’ location for its graduates, who are likely to continue working and living here after graduation. Programmes co-delivered across universities and community partners can work to benefit both current students and members of the wider community. For example, the University of East London’s Stratford Health Campus works to link housing and campus changes to the need for more healthcare providers to be working in the capital.
Planning to build PBSA near tube stations can allow students to live across a wider range of areas, diffusing them in smaller numbers across many communities, while making it possible to travel easily to their places of study.
Section 3
17. Paragraph 3.8: Digital infrastructure. If you have any comments, please add them here.
The London Plan should work to ensure universities are ready for the increased capacity and demand for digital infrastructure. London has been written about as the ‘European capital for AI’ since 2021. London & Partners report that in 2024 alone, London-based AI startups attracted a record $3.5 billion in venture capital (VC) funding, accounting for 32% of the city’s total VC investments. This marks a 52% increase from the $2.3 billion raised in 2023 and surpasses the previous record of $2.9 billion set in 2022. These figures underscore the city’s role as the engine of the UK’s AI-driven growth.
At present, one data centre at peak time may use 10% of the city’s energy capacity. It is also important to bear in mind the significant water needs of such data centres. If London aspires to compete with Silicon Valley and the US for AI development, the city’s digital infrastructure needs to expand its capacity so that it can cope with increased demand. Much of this innovation is driven by London’s higher education sector – its research and innovation, the specialists it trains for the future of the industry, and the start-ups and spin-outs that emerge from its universities.
Universities are at the forefront of developments in AI that have the capacity to directly and indirectly benefit other topics that are key to the London Plan. For example, the University of East London’s UK Centre for Artificial Intelligence in the Public Sector works alongside the London Borough of Newham to harness AI tackling local issues including temporary accommodation, the local economy, health, social care, and resilience to climate change. This initiative was shortlisted for the 2025 local Government Chronicle Awards, recognising its important work bringing higher education, local communities and digital infrastructure together to solve major issues. If universities are to continue working at the forefront of technological developments that tackle the city’s problems, London will need to build the infrastructure that can support that as capacity needs continue to increase in the future.
19. Paragraph 3.9: Access to employment. If you have any comments, please add them here.
London’s higher education institutions have a key role to play in providing pathways into skilled employment, equipping individuals and organisations to deliver the London Plan’s objectives. Planning for the future of London’s infrastructure should bear in mind the myriad ways the higher education system creates access to employment for Londoners. This does not only apply to eighteen-year-olds beginning undergraduate degrees immediately after school, but for adults’ skill development, mid-career changes and career progression. Universities are already doing essential work training Londoners in essential and skilled jobs, such as filling shortages in skilled healthcare roles in the NHS, but innovative projects can extend this work.
London’s universities are consistently ranked top in the country for social mobility by the Sutton Trust. According to data published by the Sutton Trust in 2022, the top twelve institutions for social mobility nationally were all in London.
Programmes at London’s higher education institutions provide exposure to highly skilled jobs for students from underrepresented backgrounds. There are a wealth of initiatives from London institutions of all types working on helping London students transition into good careers. The Westminster Working Cultures programme allows students from the University of Westminster to benefit from work placements and networking in prestigious industries around the world. The Birkbeck Futures programme supports its students and graduates (who are disproportionately part time and mature) to upskill and develop their application and CV-writing. Similar programmes exist at London’s small specialist institution, such as the Royal College of Art where the Business Aftercare Scheme works to support graduates access skilled employment with their creative degrees.
Expanding programmes like these with the involvement of partner organisations inside and outside London’s government can help the higher education sector offer more opportunities like these. Working with universities to develop these programmes further is an important part of the puzzle of helping more Londoners into high quality employment.
Section 4
7. Paragraph 4.4: London’s heritage If you have any comments, please add them here.
The higher education sector retrofitting and refurbishing heritage buildings as part of their estates. Universities can be leaders in influencing decarbonisation of estates due to their sheet size as well as student interest and desire for sustainability.
Several examples of important work done by higher education institutions in the London ecosystem follow. The variety and scale of these projects illustrate the magnitude of the work the London HE sector is undertaking, and how central this work is to the city maintaining its heritage buildings. In 2025, the University of London started the decarbonisation of the Bloomsbury Estate (funded by University of London, SOAS and UCL in conjunction with a £7.2 million grant from the Government’s Green Heat Network Fund). This will decarbonise the estate by 99% once completed in 2030. Kingston University London has had a successful grant application via the Low Carbon Skills Fund and received £174,000 funding. This has informed their Heat Decarbonisation Plan (HDP). The University of West London secured funding from Phase 1 and 3a of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme in 2024, receiving £5 million in Phase 1 and £285,000 in Phase 3a to replace outdated gas boilers at Century House with carbon saving air source heat pumps and upgrade the building’s insulation.
London universities’ research and practical work can inform each other to drive sustainability forwards. One example of this is the work of Mark Mulligan at King’s College London, tracking pollution and air quality in the surrounding areas of the university campus and enabling the university and the local area to benefit from the data. King’s is also working to create pedestrianized zones, which inspire sustainable and healthy lifestyles alongside improving air quality, noise pollution and cycle infrastructure. Learnings from projects like these can support the myriad organisations that own, manage and decarbonize London’s historic buildings.
Giving universities support in decarbonising, retrofitting and renovating their estates allows these historic buildings to continue contributing to London’s civic pride and landscape for future generations.
