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Student life

Idealis: ‘Temporary rooms needed for next year’

Idealis is looking at options for temporary student accommodation. It will need these temporary rooms to cope with the expected growth in student numbers in Wageningen from September 2017, says Sylvie Deenen, the student accommodation provider’s director.
Lieke de Kwant

There are already temporary container homes for students on Haarweg, at Earth House.

Photo: Joris Schaap

‘There were far more new students this year than the university predicted,’ says Deenen. ‘That has not resulted in any urgent problems but there will definitely be shortages if we get another year with growth like this. That’s why we need to make arrangements earlier than we expected for additional rooms.’

The student accommodation provider wants to do this in part by speeding up ongoing projects. For instance, there are plans for 178 new permanent rooms on the site of the former Diedenoort university of applied sciences on Churchillweg, as well as around 200 rooms at Costerweg 65, opposite the entrance to Duivendaal. ‘But they will not be available before September 2018,’ says Deenen. Furthermore, the fate of the planned 120 rooms on the site of the Kirpestein garage on Ritzema Bosweg is still uncertain. Gelderland province has not yet given dispensation for a six or seven storey building as it fears the De Vlijt windmill on Harnjesweg may then not get enough wind.

All in all, the plans for permanent accommodation will result in too little, too late to cope with current rates of growth, according to Deenen. Idealis has therefore asked Wageningen University & Research and the municipality to help think of suitable locations for temporary accommodation that could be made ready for people to move in to within one year. This could be existing buildings or temporary units such as container homes. Deenen does not want to name any specific locations as yet. ‘It is still too early for that.’

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