Acton halls with panoramic views
Stephen Ball and Ben Fernando see the new rooms at One Victoria road
Felix paid a visit to the construction site of the new Halls, One Victoria Road, to investigate how things were progressing and to talk to Campus Services about the latest news and updates ον τηε προϕεχτ.
Currently, no decision has yet been taken on the future of Evelyn Gardens. All that is known for certain is that all Evelyn Gardens halls will be shut down for the next year. Jane Neary, Head of Campus Services, explained that this is simply due to the Evelyn Garden Halls not being up to the required standard – whether the halls will reopen in future years is something that will hopefully be decided in the coming year, but even if they were to re-open they are on a limited lease.
The new site itself is divided into four buildings, the tallest of which reaches twenty stories into the sky. Block A, the southernmost building, is to consist of purely communal facilities including a bar and restaurant, a volunteer/community space and a gym split across two floors.
The three other interconnected buildings, B-D, will provide accommodation for 603 students, 102 of whom will be in twin rooms with all rooms being en-suites. As with the newer halls in Prince’s Gardens, the rooms will be arranged into ‘blocks’ of 6/7 students, each of which will have a communal kitchen. The sample kitchen that Felix was shown was on the 18th floor of Block D. The kitchens bulge from the side of the building in such a way that they provide views of almost 180° across London through the curved glass-panelled wall.
Campus Services were also keen to highlight the features of the new rooms: a 6’6” long double bed, and increased storage space as compared to the last set of Halls built by the College in Prince’s Gardens. However, some students have expressed reservations about the announced price of the rooms: the expected cost of a single will be £165 per week and a twin will be £125 per week. Once the £20+ per week cost of a Zones 1 and 2 Travelcard is added, the average rent per room will be higher than it is currently in Evelyn Gardens.
The College were also keen to point out that there will be no decrease in the Wardening ratios as a result of the move: provision has been made for 12 Subwardens and 2 Wardens to be split across the three blocks. Also there is space onsite for a Union office, and it is promised that students will be able to use the nearby Health Centre.
Other communal facilities will include a multi-faith prayer room, storage for 300 bikes, quiet study space and music rehearsal rooms, a rooftop terrace, a barbecue area and the usual communal spaces with games and TVs for use by the residents.
The location is significantly further away from Campus than the current Halls. College were keen to point out that the Central line will be running 24 hours by the time the new Halls open, and that there will be a Crossrail station a short walk away when it becomes operational.
