Warwick University aims to boost student bed spaces by over 1,000 in next decade

A university near Coventry is aiming to provide more than 1,000 extra beds for its students in the next decade. Warwick University is predicting student numbers will rise by 2033.

It hopes to boost housing on or near campus to the tune of some 1,200 student beds by this point, according to new plans. The schemes would be developed by the university directly or working with private companies.

"The exact amount and locations are not yet determined," a new so-called "draft masterplan" said. It lays out how the university on the outskirts of the city plans to develop in the next 10 years.

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Project on the horizon include a social science block and redeveloping science facilities. These involve building two "major" new groups of buildings, with the first stages to be done in the next 5 years, and creating a university green.

Other schemes are a new energy innovation centre, extending Scarman House and putting in groups of solar panels to generate energy. The "masterplan" also indicates 10 areas of the campus that are likely to be developed.

These can be seen on a map in the 40-page document in papers for a council meeting this week. Nothing has been finalised but potential projects for these areas could come forward in the next decade, the report says.

The possibility of more student housing near campus comes amid a change in where those enrolled at the university live. There has been a "notable" drop in the number of students living in Leamington Spa, according to the plans.

Some 4,300 students live there, according to data, compared with 7,500 on campus and 10,000 in Coventry. More people at the university are living in the city centre and in nearby purpose-built student blocks, the report added.

The university is also looking at creating a so-called "eco park" in green belt south of the campus, though it partly depends on land returns from HS2. The project involves landscape "enhancement" to create a space for the university and local communities.

There would be "ecological assets," spaces for leisure and to generate renewable energy, the masterplan revealed. The plan is what's known as a supplementary planning document (SPD) which could be used in future planning decisions by both Coventry and Warwick councils.

If adopted by Coventry council, schemes that align with the masterplan will normally be approved by the authority as long as they have a high-quality design, a report says. Members of the public will be able to comment on it in a 6-week consultation which will open after the local elections next month.

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