The city’s horizon is set to continue its journey skyward, experts have said, as a “conveyor belt” of swanky new apartment blocks continue to pile up in the city centre.
It comes as students from across the globe continue to flock to the Fine City with a number of accommodation projects being given the green light.
This includes the £42m 684-bed student block at St Crispin's House in Duke Street where construction has already begun to convert the former 1970s office building which once housed The Stationery Office.
The same street could also welcome 120 new flats the at the former Eastern Electricity Board site at Duke's Wharf.
Meanwhile, a complex of 141 studio bedrooms at the former Richard Nash showroom and garage in Normans Buildings, off Rouen Road, was also given the green light last month.
And the trend may only be set to continue.
Chartered architect Spiros Defteraios, director of SD Studio which has worked on projects in Norwich, believes demand for student accommodation has been accelerating since the credit crunch in 2008.
Mr Defteraios said the ensuing housing crisis saw a number of people seeking a university degree which meant pumping funds into improving infrastructure to meet the demand.
The architect said: "Many of these buildings are appearing where there would normally be larger-scale buildings allocated for commercial use anyway.
"If you are trying to build in a well-established residential area there is a decreased chance of getting planning permission for it.
"Most of Norwich city centre is a conservation area so it may be harder to see these buildings appearing in certain areas anyway."
Norwich City Council conducted a pre-pandemic study which showed there were 20,170 students in Norwich with 18,015 of them full-time.
This accounted for around 13pc of the city's total population with both the University of East Anglia and Norwich University of the Arts on the doorstep.
The council also assessed there was a need for 1,800 purpose-built student accommodation at the time.
But Jamie Osborn, city and county councillor for the Mancroft Ward, has expressed his fears over the scale of student accommodation being built in Norwich in relation to non-student digs.
He said: "There seems to be a conveyer belt of student development going through now as it is relatively cheap for developers to build and there is no council tax on them either.
"It is not the students themselves I have a problem with but the developments are huge and have a massive impact on people living nearby with overshadowing.
"I am concerned about the precedent set for massive buildings which are not really in character with the historic Norwich streetscape."
The Green councillor said the purpose-built blocks are at risk of becoming "white elephants" if some of the rooms are left empty due to the cost compared to traditional shared terraced housing.
However Global Student Accommodation – the organisation behind St Crispin's House in the city centre – pushed back: “Norwich City Council’s rigorous planning approval process found that any impact in terms of over-shadowing will not be material.
“Compared to other cities in the UK, Norwich is significantly undersupplied with student accommodation, with 63% of full-time students currently unable to access university or purpose-built student accommodation in the city.”
And Jan Hytch, residential and operations partner at city-based agents Arnolds Keys believes the increase in student accommodation is beneficial in terms of employment, spending in local retailers and avoiding traffic congestion.
She added: "Accommodation used to be mainly multiple occupancy or terrace but you do hear all the horror stories with those. The quality of student accommodation has now greatly improved.
"The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and universities continue to grow so there will be a need for accommodation. But that is also because the general population is growing."
City councillor Mike Stonard, cabinet member for inclusive and sustainable growth, said the council's ongoing proposals for the Greater Norwich Local Plan support the need for student accommodation away from the main university campus.
He added: “Housing developments in the city need to include requirements to contribute to a mixed and inclusive neighbourhood and not dominate existing residential communities.
"We’re also keen that they deliver a compliant proportion of affordable housing that would be expected if the site were developed for residential housing needs.”
What is the Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP)?
The GNLP was formally submitted to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to examine in late-July.
Norwich City Council, Broadland District Council and South Norfolk Council are working together for the project.
They suggested more than 500 locations after a call for sites in 2015 and another 200 were subsequently put forward in 2018.
The plan's objectives include providing "high-quality homes of the right density, size, mix and tenure to meet people’s needs".
But there has been debate about how the homes should be spread out across the three districts.
Councillor Shaun Vincent, chairman of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership said: "We need to make sure that future growth brings benefits for all, while protecting our environment and providing for a sustainable future."
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