Lack of accommodation 'means you don't get the full university experience'

Cammy Doherty and Conor McMenamin from County Donegal say searching for suitable accommodation this year is incredibly difficult

A "chronic undersupply of student accommodation" poses a risk to Ulster University's expansion plans in Londonderry, a senior official has warned.

Gareth Kennedy, interim director of campus life at Magee, also said there was a "substantial" waiting list of students seeking accommodation in Derry.

Cammy Doherty and Conor McMenamin are from Ballybofey, County Donegal, and travel about 40 minutes to get to the campus.

"We are looking for accommodation at the minute, but it's really hard to find anywhere because it's just so expensive," Cammy said.

"For shared student accommodation, we have seen some places that are not too different in price from an actual apartment."

The campus has its highest number of 6,300 students this term and the expansion's target of 10,000 would require more student accommodation, including houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), which some residents living near the campus are concerned about.

Mr Kennedy's comments are in an official letter relating to a planning application to convert a derelict house in the Park Avenue area of the city into a 20-bedroom student accommodation block.

In February, Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said the university now had the land it needed to increase student numbers to the 10,000 target.

In a statement, the Department for the Economy (DfE) clarified that all land for teaching space had now been acquired.

It would now would work with Ulster University and local stakeholders to develop student accommodation to "meet the needs of a growing student body".

"This work will be carried out through engagement with the local community to ensure that the expansion is delivered in a way that minimises disruption and secures long term benefits for Derry and the north west region," a spokesperson said.

Ulster University says there is a substantial waiting list for students seeking accommodation to attend its Magee campus

Chair of the Magee taskforce Stephen Kelly said that waiting list for accommodation runs into "hundreds" of students.

Mr Kelly said resolving the accommodation issue was a "major, major problem".

"That accommodation issue continues to be a major challenge, one that the university have been creative with until now," Mr Kelly told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"But we do need to see those private developers come in with their own schemes, as they've done in Belfast, Liverpool, Galway and other areas."

'Missing full university experience'

Conor said that if accommodation costs are too high, it will "make people want to stay at home".

"Even for us, who are just 40 minutes down the road, you miss out on a lot up here," Cammy added.

"You're missing nights out or events because you're worried about how you're getting home, and you maybe don't get that full university experience."

Niamh Byrne and Eoin McGlinchey say rental costs could put students off coming to the university

Third-year students Niamh Byrne and Eoin McGlinchey said that throughout their university time, accommodation had always been difficult.

"You really do have to put the work in to find somewhere," Niamh said.

She now has to set early alarms to make it to class three times a week from Belfast.

"I was on the train this morning at about half past six to be here for 10, but it's just got to be done," Niamh said.

"It just isn't sustainable to live around here anymore because the prices have surged," Eoin said.

"I think it's going to get to a point where people will say, 'I can't go to Derry anymore for university' and I think that's really going to harm the campus."

Catherine McDaid, an SDLP councillor who works at the Magee campus, told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme that the increase in student numbers was a positive story, but she thinks "the city isn't built for it yet".

'HMOs not the answer'

Margaret Gallagher lives near the campus and is a member of the group Concerned Residents Around Magee (CRAM).

The group, she told BBC News NI, is 100% behind the university's expansion and the need for students to have good quality accommodation.

However, she said, when the university announced expansion plans, it did so "without really taking any responsibility for where these students were going to be housed".

That has left "a vacuum", Ms Gallagher said, allowing some people to "make lots of money" from turning houses in areas near Magee into HMOs.

Derry and Strabane Council has refused to cap the number of HMOs around the university at 10%.

However, the university insists it will not turn into another Holylands, a reference to the student area near Queen's University in Belfast.

Ulster University said it was "imperative" that student accommodation and other infrastructure in the city grows alongside and supports the sustainable growth in student numbers at the Derry campus.

A spokesperson said they would work with the local council and the Magee taskforce to find solutions to the accommodation problem.

It would also work with the local community "to ensure the views of our neighbours and communities are heard".