The University has commissioned student accommodation experts Cushman & Wakefield to conduct a strategic review of students’ expectations for their accommodation on campus, to inform its programme to refurbish all on-campus halls of residence over the next 10-15 years.

The review will ensure that the University’s student accommodation strategy, Project Stay, is modelled to meet sector-leading standards and the wide variety of accommodation and facilities that would be required by students who will choose to live on campus in the future.

The review will consider the types of catered and self-catered facilities and the mix of accommodation needed to meet the broadest range of student requirements, for example students from diverse cultural backgrounds or postgraduate students with families.

To ensure that the current project to refurbish Hugh Stewart Hall can benefit from this thinking, work has been paused so that any new requirements can be considered before the University contracts the necessary works.  

CFO Margaret Monckton said: “Students deserve the very best accommodation aligned to their needs and we remain committed to refurbishing this historic Grade II listed hall. However, it is important that we take a short period of time to ensure that our plans meet the needs of students both now and well into the future.” 

As Hugh Stewart Hall has already been removed from student accommodation options for the next two years, the pause in refurbishment is not expected to impact the University’s guarantee of on-campus accommodation for all first-year undergraduates or its commitments in the recently published Student Living Strategy.