A few days ago I was accosted at a conference in Derry by an unhappy woman. Her grievance was that expansion of Ulster University’s Magee campus is leading to an increase in what she termed a local ‘transient population’. This is connected to a significant increase of houses in multiple occupation, or HMOs, in nearby residential streets. Residents fear that parts of Derry are beginning to resemble Belfast’s ‘holy lands’.
It does seem reasonable to stipulate a limit on the number of HMOs in particular residential roads. This may need to be done on a case-by-case basis, given that some streets have multiple three storey properties that in the modern age are too large to be suitable as family homes. I replied to my agitated interrogator that while I agreed on an HMO limit, I couldn’t agree on her parallel demand to block a nearby largely redundant factory being part converted into student accommodation. The lady was not for turning.
This led me to reflect on the need for those of us who have campaigned for Magee expansion to make clearer the case for it. It is complacent to assume that those living in the city are necessarily supportive, not least as the rise in student numbers has been accompanied by the city gaining the largely unwanted status as the UK leader in house price inflation.
Above all, Derry needs a large university campus to create the skills base necessary for a modern economy. Skills are the human resources infrastructure of the economy. Their foundational relevance was made clear in recent days by the disclosure that an aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul operation proposed for location at the City of Derry Airport will not proceed. Ryanair concluded the local skills base is insufficient.
University expansion is unlikely to directly affect that very specialised requirement, but it does make the principle clear. Statistics do the same: Derry has Northern Ireland’s lowest employment rate alongside the second lowest proportion of school leavers going into higher education – despite having a university campus in the city. Derry does, though, have a slightly above average proportion of school leavers going into further education.
Despite discussion in recent years about the advantages of apprenticeships and technical skills, it remains the case that university graduates retain an earnings advantage. There needs to be a public discussion, especially in Derry, about the role of skills and the need for them in the evolving economy.
A stronger skills base will attract more investment into the city and enable local businesses to expand. As this happens, more residents will benefit from higher pay and this will lead to increased local spending. At present, parts of the retail sector in Derry are struggling, but with both higher earnings and also a larger population as a result of the rising student intake, there should be improved viability and sustainability for retailers and for Derry city as a retail hub.
This should be especially true for the hospitality sector and also for arts and culture. A larger young adult population can be expected to support cafes, pubs, theatres and cinemas. It should be a boost for the cultural heart of the city, in ways that can be seen in many university cities such as Galway, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
But the gains go beyond this in making the city a physically more attractive urban area. At present, Derry is blighted by too many derelict buildings and empty sites. This is common across many post-industrial cities, but it is something that Derry has an opportunity to address.
There is a desperate need for more accommodation in the city, not least in its centre where it can directly provide a boost to retail and hospitality, as well as making the city look and feel better. A number of property developers – around six, it has been suggested – are keen to build student accommodation blocks in the Strand Road area, where there are several empty sites.
This is where some of the challenges lie. Developers face two substantial concerns: water / sewerage connections and confidence. Without significant investment by NI Water, there are limited opportunities to build new accommodation blocks. There is confidence but not certainty that arrangements can be made with NI Water to overcome this.
But there is greater concern regarding budgetary confidence over the next stage of Magee expansion, to take it from the current figure of 6,500 students (its highest ever) to the next objective of 10,000. The current Sinn Fein economy and finance ministers have included the costs into their financial planning – but the proposal for a three year Stormont budget was rejected by other ministers. And there is an Assembly election next year.
Anxiety is widespread in the city that incoming ministers will not approve the revenue funds to support an increased university student cohort – especially if the increase applies only to Derry and Ulster University. Magee expansion is not perceived to be a policy priority shared across the Executive table, despite it being a commitment enshrined in the New Decade New Approach agreement. Magee expansion to 10,000 students is a very long way from being a done deal.
Derry’s recognition as a university city, with a substantial campus, is clearly in the city’s economic, social and cultural interests. But whether there is cross party political support for Magee expansion is an almost unconnected question.