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LONDON, ONT. — Two new residences to house more than 1,000 university students will be built at Western University in London, Ont.

The announcement was made by Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The Ontario government’s efforts to cut red tape through the  is helping build more new student housing faster to address housing needs.

Cumbersome red tape is one of the biggest barriers to getting shovels in the ground and the legislation takes significant action to streamline approvals and increase housing and infrastructure development across Ontario, states a release.

Ontario has exempted publicly assisted universities from the Planning Act to enable the institutions to build more student housing faster and better meet the needs of their student populations. The universities, like publicly assisted colleges, are no longer subject to many municipal planning approvals, which can save years in approvals, avoid planning application fees, and remove barriers to building higher density student residences, the release adds.