New Cork student rooms are going for as much as €450 a week

The UCC Students’ Union president has said that what is needed in Cork and around the country is affordable student accommodation and not games rooms and other extras.

Colm Foley’s comments come after a new private provider opened an accommodation facility in Cork charging up to €450 per week for a room.

The Bottle Works site, which is being operated by Novel Student, a company providing accommodation in Belfast, London and Canterbury, has 623 individual rooms over nine floors at its Cork site. Rent for each room ranges from €240 per student per week to €450 per student per week for a 39-week period per year.

It also provides accommodation in Spain and Scotland.

Apartments can house up to eight students with each person having a separate ensuite room and paying rent individually to the provider. There are a number of apartments which house six, five and four students, while there’s also an option for a studio apartment for one student.

Other facilities available on the premises include a bike shed, cinema, digital games room and common room, outdoor courtyard while electricity, water and security is included in the price.

In one of its Spanish accommodation facilities, in Oviedo, Novel Student offers a premium studio with full board for €900 per month while a premium studio at its Cork facility, where full board is not available as an option, costs €440 per week, coming to €1,660 per month.

For a 51 week tenancy, which is what is on offer according to the Bottle Works website, this amounts to €22,440.

Concern

While there’s a welcome for additional student accommodation in Cork, concern has been expressed that there’s a lack of affordable student accommodation in the city.

Mr Foley said there’s a constant fear of not being able to pursue a third-level education due to the cost of accommodation and said that stringent regulations were needed for accommodation complexes in Cork.

“Bottle Works offers amenities such as gaming areas, a dry bar lounge, and a karaoke room. All of which students don’t need or want for, so we hope that the Government’s Standardised Design plans can be implemented across all future publicly-owned student accommodations as quickly and effectively as possible,” he said.

Need

Executive director of the Irish Council for International Students, Laura Harmon, said there was a need for “adequate supplies of purpose-built accommodation for students in Cork city” but it needed to be affordable.

“The Government must develop a new plan for student accommodation to ensure that there are more campus-owned options available with affordable rents,” said Ms Harmon, who is also a Labour Party candidate for the upcoming local elections in Cork City South West.

There are five different complexes offering on-campus accommodation for UCC and the rent ranges from €600 to €900 per month.

Accommodation is also available in a number of privately owned complexes and students pay rent of between €700 and €1,200 per month.

There are also a small number of private houses available for house shares at between €500 and €700 per student per month.

When contacted by The Echo to speak about their accommodation, a spokesperson for Bottle Works declined to comment.