C umberland Courts, affiliated with Castle Street’s Cumberland College, are no longer running. James Lindsay, Director of Accommodation Services, said “the properties are being administered by UniFlats for 2015” — this is a university operation that mostly houses single-semester international students.
The option to apply for accommodation at the Courts was withdrawn in the early stages of enrolment, so most students applying for the 2015 year would not have found Cumberland Courts on the online application system.
Despite this, a small number of early applicants managed to apply for a place; Lindsay maintains that the number of these applicants who missed out on their first choice was “less than a handful.” These students were all offered accommodation elsewhere.
Lindsay said that funding of the Courts is achieved by “whichever university operation is supervising the properties concerned.” Currently this is UniFlats.
In previous years, the Courts served as a residential community in which mostly first-year students were placed with four to six others. In total, the Courts housed around 100 residents at a time. These residents had access to all Cumberland College facilities, with lunches and dinners provided in the Gazebo Lounge of the University Union Building.
The UniFlats will be self-catered, with individuals splitting cooking and cleaning duties. Flatting expenses and utilities are shared with the other students in the flat and are not included in the rent. Flat residents will not be entirely independent, as a residential assistant (RA) will be appointed to each building. UniFlats are also generally provided with at least one New Zealand resident per international undergraduate flat, who acts as a “Kiwihost” for the other members.
Lindsay says future plans to reallocate Cumberland Courts back to Cumberland College will “depend on demand.”
Cumberland Courts No More
Courts Now Entirely Uniflats
