Long awaited building of student flat to start in September

Duwo, the student housing provider, announced that the building of the student flats with 136 studios will start in September 2023. It will be ready at the end of 2024. A spokesperson could not say when the first students will be able to move in.

The studios are reserved for students aged 23 and older. The homes are 27 square metres and have their own bathroom and kitchen. The rent will be EUR 576 and the students can apply for rent allowance for the studios. BalPol4 will have two communal spaces, including a covered outdoor space of 300 square metres. The building will be built on the Balthasar van der Polweg, on the Balpol3 and Korvezeestraat student complex’s parking area.

Recently published research by Delta (in Dutch) shows that no student accommodation has been built on campus since 2017. The building of student housing in the municipality of Delft has also virtually dried up. This will change with the building of BalPol4.

Bats and objections
The plans of the building have been around since 2013 but was delayed again and again because of objection procedures and the presence of bats. Bats are an endangered species and are protected under EU legislation. In September 2021, the housing provider announced that it could start building that year. But further questioning of a spokesperson revealed that delays were again incurred because of objection procedures and bats. “Assessments on the survival chances of bats had to be done again to get the green light on this aspect.”

In the meantime, the design has been adapted a few times. Bat boxes will be added to the façade and the building will get a green roof. While several investigations by Delta and local bodies such as Stip, Oras and WijWonen show that students prefer shared accommodation, the design is still for studios.