Durham University

[KingscoteStaff]

The continuation thread for those with DC at Durham, or applying to Durham, or alumni, or staff!

January 2022 finds our DC packing their big coats, checking the forecast for snow and wondering when Michaelmas actally is...?

Assemble!
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DH’s new camera!

I take it Gilesgate is still considered to be miles away, down market and not where anybody wants to live?

Gilesgate is fine. Honestly. As you get further up there are some actual, real people who live there whereas the viaduct is pretty much 100% student but honestly even right up near the Sainsburys local is still only 20min walk to Elvet, there is a good bus service and it is close to Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, The Range etc plus tends to be cheaper rent. I'm sure those who end up there will get used to the idea and disappointment will be overcome. If they don't mind cycling up the hills again then taking their bike can be a good plan as you can whoosh down the hill to town in no time.

I lived up Gilesgate as a student and then afterwards too.

@KingscoteStaff it is indeed a beautiful day. I spent most of today in Durham with the dc for the science fair. Great outreach work from the University and so, so lovely to have it back for the first time since covid. I nearly cried going in, we've been gong every year since my hulking, great teenager was knee high to a grasshopper. He didn't join us this time but middle teen and the small child were still up for it.

It is beautiful here today and nice to see the science marquee on Palace Green. Had a lovely lunch at the Riverview Kitchen although quite a queue.

Overall a five hour train journey but worth it to see my son and have a wander down memory lane (some memories less appropriate for sharing with my kids though...).

@KingscoteStaff Hurrah! That's some drive though.

@red4321 Hope you've also had a lovely day.

Lol think I didn't get to last page before posting.

Good to see everyone had a beautiful day enjoying time with DC.

The Durham rental crisis has made the BBC and ITV national news today.

It's a massive issue, dd still not found anything despite approaching every agency in Durham at least three times. She is very stressed.

It wasn't until I got back home and ran the numbers that I realised how crazily high they are. The better locations are £209 per week, which works out around £840 per person per month. My friend pointed out he's renting out a 3 bed apartment near Sydney for less than that.

There was a 5 bed rental house on the market for £450k and the landlord will be getting £54k a year in rent. In fairness, that includes bills but it's still a high return. I'm not slating the landlords, as they said on the news, it's the economics of supply and demand.

They seem to attribute some of the issue to a hike in numbers in 2021due to TAGs so perhaps rents will fall when they've worked their way through their three years and numbers fall back to normal levels.

There seemed to be properties showing as available in estate agents' windows on Thursday but mainly the £210 per week ones. They may also not be up-to-date but I hope your daughter finds somewhere soon.

I do blame the landlords. They don’t need to increase that much. They could rent without bills. DD has just graduated from Durham and was paying £525 and £565 for years 2&3 in Viaduct and Mount Joy. The facilities and fittings were dire! They just know they have a captive audience. There should be more regulation.

The worm will turn, there will be an increase in college accommodation/private halls over the next few years and the greediest landlords will be left with no one to rent to.

DS hasn’t got anything yet. Does anyone know whether the private halls are booking for next year yet, or when applications for staying in college happen?

DS also still got nothing.

@Watsername DD’s private hall releases mid Nov.
Dd has decided that if she can’t afford where she is ( private hall) next year, she will rent in Newcastle with friends. She has a friend living there now in really nice house who signed in June paying £105 with bills included . That’s £35 less than Dd is paying this year. Of course it would be more next year but she thinks it won’t be as bad as Durham. It would be such a shame imo that a student can’t afford to live in their student city but she’s practical and says the rents there are much* cheaper even when she factors in 10 min train journeys into Durham . I guess the thing is.. there was actually accommodation available late in the year compared to the insane scramble in Durham. So.. I get it tbh.

Sorry for random bold sentences 🙄

Dd (year 2) has now managed to find a house with her friends, she was starting to feel quite desperate.
She is currently in Rushford Court (Unite private halls) and should have had first dibs for there next year but apparently the whole site is being turned into Durham uni accommodation for one college (no idea which).

@LeiatheSchnauzer I think it might be Hilde Bede. There are rumours of a major renovation planned there. It was supposed to start this year, I believe, but the Uni over offered again and they needed the accommodation so it was delayed

@alterego2 , that makes sense! I think a few years ago John Snow or South might have also taken over Rushford whilst they were developing.

I also noticed the Three Tuns hotel is in the process of being turned into student accommodation.

I think some from Castle are in Rushford Court this year as well, probably overflow.

It’s no good taking in more students and expanding colleges to house more first years (or putting overflow into private halls), if there is nowhere for them to live as second or third years when they have to move out. Am I missing something here? It just seems such a gormless thing to do!

Completely agree. There needs to be enough,
affordable housing in the City for all the students, the university has a duty of care.

The locals aren’t too happy either. The city is small and so much accommodation being built for students. DD would say how different the place felt out of term time.

Agree, it is so short sighted to effectively push your second and third years out of accommodation by snapping it all up for first years who will then have massively reduced options 12 months later.