Construction on new Lakeside accommodation begins

New halls of residence have commenced at Lakeside, and are expected to be ready for the start of the 2012/2013 academic year. The accommodation, which is expected to provide for 573 students, begun last July.

With its aim of developing the campus, the University of Warwick has both launched and completed major capital projects, among which includes the new residential halls Bluebell. Construction for the 505 student bedrooms accommodation had begun in early 2010 before being finally completed in the summer of 2011.

Many Warwick students have different reactions towards the new developments. Some found Bluebell to be exceptionally expensive for on-campus accommodation at £145 per week, with one student commenting that “you can get a flat at London” [at that price].

Michael Allen, a second-year Politics and International Studies student, believed that the new accommodation spaces are a positive response to the problems faced by the university during the previous year, when there was a shortage of rooms for newly-arrived students. However, he noted that the increased on-campus accommodation also meant that there is a greater stress on campus resources, as evident from the increased usage of the library during the first few weeks of the new academic year, and indeed in exam periods.

When questioned about the future of Warwick Accommodation, Peter Dunn, Head of Communications for the University, has revealed that there are “plans for a further development of 500 or so rooms the year after that.” He explained that the University is “carrying out building work in such a way that aims to provide those rooms for students as they arrive for each new academic year.”

With more developments and new accommodation buildings set for this year and more plans for 2012, it seems that campus will not be short of cranes and building equipment for the foreseeable future.