News & Events

Around 12,000 first year students will be arriving at universities across the South over the next week – with many staying in Halls of Residence.

BBC Radio Solent’s breakfast show looked at how ‘student digs’ had changed and improved over recent years, and reporter Jo Palmer visited BU’s recently refurbished Cranborne House Halls of Residence.

The Halls have undergone an £8.3 million transformation, with all of the flats being completely remodelled, the creation of a common room and outside seating area and even wireless technology to allow students to see if the washing machines are free from the comfort of their own bedroom.

Jo reported live from Cranborne throughout Julian Clegg’s breakfast show and spoke to BU’s Residential Services Manager Richard Search.

“I think the vast majority [of student accommodation] have improved considerably over the last ten or fifteen years,” Richard said.

“I think the time’s gone now when you could get away with the charity shop furniture and the old 1950s-style carpet. I think it’s got to be a little bit more modern, a bit more minimalistic.

“There’s an element of supply and demand here – I think students are demanding more, and if you are a landlord then you need to improve your premises to get them let.”

He added that he didn’t think students were missing out on ‘character building’ by going into more luxurious accommodation.

“Times have changed and I think perhaps modern students have quite a lot of other things they have to worry about without worrying about things like that.”

BU has built six new Halls of Residences from 2005 to 2012 in the Bournemouth and Poole area, and Richard told Julian that students could typically expect their own bathroom.

“Our surveys of students tell us that en-suite is the first thing that they look for in their accommodation.

“So you’ll find that the vast majority, if not all, of new buildings will have en-suite facilities.”

Listen to the feature in full on BBC Radio Solent (available for seven days)