Around 99% of residents in Universitas Ridge are opposed to ten or more students living in student houses in this neighbourhood.
This is according to a survey Tjaart van der Walt, DA councillor for ward 23, conducted in February.
“I wanted to get a better understanding of the dynamic and challenging topic of student accommodation in neighbourhoods, especially Universitas Ridge,” he said.
He shared the results of the research with the ward committee, and they supported the submission of a letter to the University of the Free State (UFS), as well as the Mangaung Metro, to inform them of the results.
“The idea was to make them aware of the results and its implications, and to make constructive proposals for the future,” Van der Walt said.
“In the letter we outline the unanimous opposition of the Universitas Ridge community to the ad hoc development of student accommodation in the area. We highlight the escalating concerns regarding uncontrolled building, noise, traffic, infrastructure, and safety risks associated with student housing.
“We then emphasise the need for real participatory planning and collaboration among stakeholders to address these challenges effectively.”
Van der Walt said the survey was distributed to over 700 stakeholders in the suburb, where there are around 500 properties.
They received 140 unique responses.
“For less than three students per property, 65% of respondents indicated that they are opposed to this; for between three and ten students, 97% are opposed; and for more than ten students, 99,2% are opposed.”
He said the committee will go on to invite cooperation in conducting further research and propose actionable recommendations for mitigating the negative impacts of student accommodation on the community and ways to mediate the conflict constructively.
“I am seriously contemplating conducting a similar, but amended, survey amongst Universitas and Parkwest stakeholders to enable community leaders to give better guidance to all stakeholders involved, based on the responses received from all stakeholders involved. The situation in Universitas is, however, much more complex and requires much more wisdom and very wide collaboration.”
Van der Walt said one of the proposals to improve the situation, is an urgent call on the UFS to drastically increase high-density accommodation on campus, possibly through public-private partnerships between the UFS, Mangaung Metro, the Free State, national government, and businesses.
“This has been a standing request in annual Integrated Development Plan submissions for Ward 23,” he said.
