‘Strong desire’ to ensure Magee neighbours are not ‘overwhelmed’ by 10,000 students

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The delivery of appropriate accommodation for 10,000 proposed students at Magee will be a key priority with a ‘strong desire to ensure the surrounding population is not overwhelmed by student numbers’.

That’s according to Economy Minister Conor Murphy, who said his Department is ‘fully committed to ensuring that Ulster University's Magee expansion is done in a way that maximises the benefits to the local community and minimises the potential negative impacts’.

Foyle MLA Mark H. Durkan said the views of the community in and around the Ulster University Magee campus needed to be taken into account to minimise any disruption arising from the university’s expansion.

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“Everyone recognises the huge positive impact of university expansion on Derry, but we have to make sure that it is managed right and that local communities are not choked by traffic or have their fabric threatened by the demand for accommodation.

Magee CollegeMagee College
Magee College

"I welcome the fact that the chair of the task force [Stephen Kelly] has set up a public meeting for next month, but will the Minister expand on the efforts of the university and the task force to identify opportunities for new, purpose-built student accommodation?” asked Mr. Durkan.

Mr. Murphy said: “Accommodation will be a key issue in the expansion, so significant work has been done to identify land and to make sure that there is engagement with the private sector, which will provide a lot of that accommodation.

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"That work has already begun. There is engagement with the council to ensure that spaces that become available can be used.

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"There is a strong desire to ensure that the surrounding population is not overwhelmed by student numbers. We have seen that happen in parts of Belfast, where a neighbourhood becomes, essentially, a student area.

"My understanding is that there have been discussions on planning restrictions to ensure that ownership of houses in multiple occupation is kept at a level that does not substantially change the nature of the neighbourhood.

"Of course, student accommodation is critical, and the understanding when the task force was put together was that it needed to be recognised that this was not just about creating more university places but about the infrastructure in the city that is needed to accommodate that. Issues such as transport and accommodation will be central to that,” said Mr. Murphy.

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