News

University leases 14 Castle Street flats for international students.
 
 
It appears that the University has taken further steps in it’s ongoing war against the ‘Scarfie’ drinking culture. The University has leased a number of Castle Street flats from tenancy agency Signal Hill Flats Ltd for 2011, and plans to sub-let them only to International Students. 
Signal Hill Flats Ltd, which owns roughly 22 houses on or around Castle Street, has accepted an offer from the University to give them exclusive access to a large number of flats, so that the University can sub-let them to International Students in 2011. 
The action by the University has received a mixed reaction on the famed street. Residents are torn between anger at another attack on the ‘Scarfie lifestyle’ and pity for the foreigners who are in for an eye opener – “those poor international students won’t know what hit them,” one current resident told Critic.
“If things like Gardies and Castle Street go, its just going to turn Otago into another Waikato, except colder with shitter houses,” another resident says. 
Some students expressed dismay that the University is in danger of scaring off potential students. “I probably would have gone somewhere warmer. Lets hope the [second year] students find a new place to all live, like Leith Street North or something,” she said. 
However, the University, is dealing with capacity issues and has recently put a cap on enrolment numbers.
The University confirms to Critic that 22 flats had been leased: 14 on Castle St, six on Cumberland St, and one on Howe St.
Director of Accommodation Services James Lindsay says the University head-leases “a pool” flats from private landlords. Key criteria for selecting flats include that they are of a good standard, well-maintained, and in easy walking distance of the University and the city centre. “The flats to be leased from Signal Hill Flats Ltd were selected because they met these criteria,” he says.