Students to be put up in old HQ at Duivendaal

This is recorded in a new memo on student housing issued by the mayor and councillors of Wageningen. According to executive board spokesman Simon Vink, there is a serious candidate for the job of creating and managing the housing. The head office has been empty since the start of this year. Adapting the building to new safety regulations turned out to be so expensive that the executive board decided to move to the campus. Vink says the safety regulations are not a hindrance to using the building for student accommodation. ‘We are talking here about very different numbers and use of the building. But the fire service still has to check the definitive plans.’ The plan is for the building to be ready for the coming season. Campus Plaza Apart from Duivendaal, 150 rooms will also be vacated in the Hucht building on the Generaal Foulkesweg from 2013/2014. But students who want to live on campus are going to have to be patient. The mayor and councillors have plans to build on campus only from 2015/2016. Much to the annoyance of Wageningen UR. The executive board would prefer to build the planned Campus Plaza (accommodation combined with small retail and catering outlets) on the Bornsesteeg as soon as possible, and aims at 2014. ‘A pity that the mayor and councillors have set a date for it’, responds Vink. Faster The board counts on planning permission taking one and a half years, and building another two years. Vink has his doubts. ‘According to our people it could all be done faster, so we are still aiming for that. The university is still growing so the need for rooms is great. We already asked to start procedures a year ago. But nothing has happened about that. It is a pity that we have lost a whole year.’