India, 04th December, 2023: Queen’s University Belfast, one of the leading Universities in UK and Ireland as well as a member of the prestigious Russell Group of UK research intensive universities, is set to invest up to £100 million over the next four years as part of their overall plan to help meet an unprecedented upsurge in demand for international students accommodation in Belfast. The announcement was followed after a recent UK-wide report by StuRents, the UK’s leading student accommodation search, property management and data platform has revealed that the UK is set to face a shortfall of around 450,000 student beds by 2025.
Belfast is currently home to an estimated 45,000 full time students attending third level education. It is estimated that 3,000 more rooms will be needed in Belfast within the next five years for Queen’s University students alone in line with an increased demand from students opting to live in high quality student accommodation. As per the data by the UK Government, in 2022, a total of 55,465 Indian students were in the UK on a student visa. Additionally, the Home Office, the Government of the UK announced that a total of 142,848 student visas were granted to Indian nationals in June 2023.
Three new sites across Belfast have been acquired by the university at Dublin Road, Laganbank and Brunswick Street as part of its accommodation growth plan, within the Queen’s ambitious Strategy 2030. The range of highly sustainable accommodation, which are being designed to achieve full Passivhaus certification, will create additional places for Queen’s students, staff and their families. As well as an expected investment of up to £100m, it would create up to 225 jobs while transforming the city centre.
Caroline Young, Vice President of Students and Corporate Services at Queen’s, said: “We have been aware of and planning for a major increase in demand for student accommodation in recent years and through this significant investment, we are ensuring we are prepared to respond effectively. There is a specific focus on the need for high quality, affordable and safe housing options, in close proximity to Queen’s.”
“Belfast is already one of the top university cities across the UK and Ireland in terms of providing the best value for money for student accommodation, with rental prices for our offering including all bills, 24-hour security, gym membership and more.”
“Securing these three sites close to Queen’s and the city centre, is not only putting us on the front foot in terms of keeping our best students at home and attracting others from elsewhere, but it will also have a hugely positive effect on the city as a whole in terms of attracting developers, businesses and better services and crucially will help deliver Belfast City Council Agenda for 66,000 more residents living in our city centre by 2030.”
Dublin Road is the first of the three sites where construction will begin, by contractors GRAHAM where up to 460 student rooms could be built. A public consultation on this site is currently taking place.