The Home Office previously had plans for Regency Hall, Cheltenham, to be a location for asylum seekers, until it was deemed no longer viable. This 100-bed space building needed another suitable use, which the co-living model complimented due to the existing living layout.

So what is co-living? Co-living is an embryonic form of residential development in the UK but one which is very well established in North American cities such as New York. In the past 3 years co-living schemes have emerged in London and have offered graduates and young professionals access to modern, high-quality professionally managed accommodation, with flexibility of tenure, in locations where high property prices would have previously seen them priced out of such areas.

The co-living model has also started to move outside the UK Capital to cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield. Within these cities, co-living developments are viewed as a way to retain high-quality graduates produced by their respective universities. This in turn increases the number of young professionals residing within these cities and in turn promotes them as key locations for leading UK and International companies seeking to tap into the growing supply of skilled professionals.

At the centre of the co-living model is community and social involvement. Whilst residents have access to their own living spaces, residents are required to use large shared communal living spaces. This firstly drives down the costs of the accommodation, given that larger private living spaces attract higher rent/capital cost, but more importantly, provides a physical space to foster both social and professional interaction and relationships.

Co-living will allow graduates and young professionals, access to modern, high-quality professionally managed accommodation, with flexibility of tenure in locations where property prices may price those out of the area.