Durham Students Unsatisfied With College Accommodation

According to a housing survey conducted by the student paper Palatinate, more than three quarters of Durham students say the University's college accommodation is not good value for money.

Of the 533 responses gathered by the newspaper, just 12.4% agreed the institution offered good value for money overall.

Meanwhile, just 10.3% of those who participated said college accommodation is good value for money. In contrast, 77.8% either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the same statement.

Respondents raised the issue of affordability, stating there was inadequate funding from student finance to cover the cost of college accommodation fees.

The affordability of accommodation is likely to worsen after the University last term announced a 3.5% increase in college accommodation fees. This will result in some colleges charging more than £8,000 a year.

Students have vented their frustration over increasing accommodation costs by participating in public demonstrations under the #Rippedoff campaign and have accused the University of ignoring concerns.

Commenting on the findings, President of Durham Students' Union, Megan Croll, said: "I'm not surprised. It is clear that rent hikes in recent years, accompanied with a lack of refurbishment, are significantly impacting on the student experience."

"Further to this, with 79.5% of students feeling that the University should lower its fees, it is clearly time for the University to respond to this strength of feeling."