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by Jenni Horn

jhorn@thekmgroup.co.uk

New arrivals at the University of Kent will shortly be moving
into the first purpose-built student digs in Medway.

The student quarters at Victory Pier, a new waterside
development in Gillingham, are just about ready for freshers to
make their home.

The smart white, red and grey buildings, knows as Liberty Quays,
will accommodate 600 students – with more than 500 of these from
the University of Kent, which commissioned the project. The
remaining flats will be used by students from the University of
Greenwich at Medway and Canterbury Christ Church University, which
also has a campus at Chatham Maritime.

One of the buildings, which will be home to 198 students, is
divided into apartments. Each room has its own en-suite shower room
and students will share a kitchen/dining room. The other block will
house 406 students in a mix of shared apartments and self-contained
studio flats, some which have been designed for wheelchair use.

The apartment blocks both
have outdoor areas where residents can study or relax, a
launderette, common room and intercom security system.

The kitchens are fully fitted with appliances, while all the
bedrooms have a Freeview television connection and free internet
access. A Tesco Express supermarket and Subway and Dominos Pizza
takeaways are also being built on site. These will also be open to
the public.

The University of Kent flats will be available to first years
and foreign students in any year.

College master Jane Glew said: “This is a superb opportunity for
students at University of Kent. Students will not only have a
brilliant academic experience but also their social, welfare and
residential needs will be met by Liberty Quays.

"The feedback we have had from students is that the new
accommodation has made a big difference when deciding on where they
wanted to study. Students were very interested in our courses but
they wanted that experience of living in halls with other students
as well.

“The new accommodation has had an affect on our applications –
we have exceeded our targets this year. It was particularly
noticeable on courses where students tend to be more sociable,
where there was a dramatic increase in the number of
applications.”

Students from the University of Kent will begin moving in on
Saturday, September 19.