To Hull and back: York students sent 40 miles away amid rooms shortage
THEY were clever enough to win a university place at one of the most picture-perfect cities in the country.
So imagine the dismay of many York first-year students when they discovered they would be surrounded not by cobbled streets and Gothic architecture but living 40 miles away... in Hull.
The move was triggered by a housing shortage caused by oversubscribed courses. According to the Russell Group university, there are ‘no available rooms’ in York ‘either on or off the campus’.
Freshers sent to Hull – most of whom secured their places through clearing – have been offered a 10 per cent rent reduction and will receive free transport.
Those who put York as their firm choice are guaranteed accommodation with the university when term begins on September 27.
For all the understated charms of Hull, not everyone has been won over by the prospect of living in the old fishing port. Monty, a fresher, told The York Tab student website: ‘Their [the university’s] best suggestion... was to live in student accommodation in Hull, an hour away from York and therefore having to get a shuttle bus to and from uni.
‘I know that they have been massively oversubscribed this year and that’s why we are in this situation but I still don’t have a place to live in York. As you can probably imagine, I’m not most pleased about it. Living an hour away during Freshers’ Week is not ideal.’
A spokesman for York university said it was offering accommodation in Hull to 150 students.
He apologised for the ‘inconvenient’ situation but said there had been ‘unprecedented demand’ for university-provided accommodation across the country. He added that the measure would only be ‘temporary’ as new campus accommodation was expected to be available from January.
Back in Hull, the local authorities remain proud of their ‘growing and resilient’ city. Launching a new economic strategy last month, council leader Daren Hale said: ‘Hull is an unashamedly ambitious city and this strategy reflects that ambition.’