News - midas handover keys
Construction company Midas celebrated the completion of the new £11million student accommodation village at the Tremough Campus in Penryn on Monday 4 June with the official handover of the site to University College Falmouth and the University of Exeter. Representatives from the universities, invited special guests and members of the project team gathered together to celebrate its completion and enjoyed a tour of the new facilities.
University College Falmouth Principal, Professor Alan Livingston and Provost of the University of Exeter in Cornwall, Professor Keith Atkinson received a symbolic key to the new student village from Steve Hindley, Chairman of the Midas Group, who congratulated them on their vision and dedication to creating such first-class student facilities within the county. He said: "This is the second phase in a two-part project that will provide students at the Tremough Campus with one of the most comfortable and modern halls of residence within any university throughout the UK. The facilities here are sure to attract talented students from across the country which has to be good news for the wider community. Businesses in Cornwall need to ensure they encourage these young people to stay and put their skills to good use for the benefit of the local economy once they graduate."
University College Falmouth Principal, Professor Alan Livingston, commented: "I am delighted to receive the key to this new phase of student accommodation, which is of an exceptionally high standard. University College Falmouth prides itself on offering a distinctive learning environment and this standard of accommodation certainly complements that ethos. I would like to extend my thanks to Midas and all the contractors who have been involved in delivering this project on time and on budget and we look forward to welcoming our students to this new facility from September."
The new student village at the Tremough Campus has more than 290 study bedrooms, two staff flats, three launderettes, an administration building, surfboard lockers and bicycle storage. Each study/bedroom has satellite TV, broadband connections, inter-room telephone systems and ergonomically-designed furniture.
Following a competition, organised by Midas, for a student to design the perfect surfboard storage area, University of Exeter student Jonathon Milne's winning design earned him a crate of beer donated by Skinners Brewery. On seeing the surfboard store for the first time, Skinners' Managing Director, Steve Skinner, explained: "Jonathon has come up with an excellent design and we are very happy to be able to reward him for his hard work and creativity. As a Cornish company, we are very excited to be involved with this new development at Tremough which will benefit the students, the universities and the economy of the county as a whole."
The incoming President for FXU, the combined Students' Union for University College Falmouth and the University of Exeter at Tremough, Steve Whiting, said: "These facilities are great, especially for first-year students who are often living away from home for the first time. The accommodation is just so comfortable and the village has a real community feel to it."
The completion of the new accommodation follows the first phase of building finished in August 2004, also undertaken by Midas, when 500 en-suite rooms were handed over to the two institutions who jointly manage the Tremough Campus. The second phase has been designed and built in the same style as the first using a low rise 'village street' design. As before, traditional Cornish finishes such as granite, slate and cedar have been used to blend the student village into the local surroundings.