Office block secured to ‘help drive’ Magee expansion

An office block has been secured to help facilitate the expansion of Ulster University’s Londonderry campus to 10,000 students by 2032, the Department for Economy (DfE) has said.

During a visit to the campus on Thursday, Economy Minster Dr Caoimhe Archibald announced the purchase of the Timber Quay office block, which follows the recent acquisition of a number of sites along the city’s riverfront.

The purchase comes after a report on boosting student numbers at the campus, which was formerly known as Magee, was published last year.

The report said the increase to 10,000 students by 2032 would help address regional imbalance and be “transformative” for the north west region.

However, the report, which was overseen by a taskforce established by former Minister Conor Murphy, also noted the quantity of privately-rented accommodation and purpose-built student accommodation must be increased to meet expansion targets.

The university currently has about 5,335 students enrolled in its Derry campus this academic year.

Previously, some residents near the university campus expressed concerns over the impact increasing student numbers without suitable accommodation would have on the surrounding residential area.

The group, Concerned Residents Around Magee (CRAM) had called on the council to cap the number of houses in multiple occupation (HMO).

A house in multiple occupation is a property rented out by at least three people who share facilities like the bathroom and kitchen, also referred to as a “house share”.

Five sites, which were previously owned by businessman Garvan O’Doherty, were purchased in December last year as part of expansion plans.

A 10,000 student target in Derry was included in New Decade, New Approach, (NDNA), which restored Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive in 2020.

It stated that both the UK and Irish governments would aim to financially support the 10,000 student number expansion target.

A commitment to expand the campus “to accommodate” 10,000 student numbers was also included in Stormont’s programme of government, which was agreed by the NI Executive earlier on Thursday morning.

Dr Archibald, who took over the role as minister from party colleague Conor Murphy earlier this year, said the acquisition of the Timber Quay building would allow Ulster University to accommodate 375 new students in the next academic year.

“This purchase, along with the additional lands secured along Queen’s Quay, means we can drive forward to reach 10,000 students at Magee by 2032,” she said.

Vice-chancellor of Ulster University Prof Paul Bartholomew said the campus “is currently at maximum capacity” and they have a “pressing need for more space”.

“Timber Quay will be quickly transformed into teaching and learning environments in time to welcome new and returning students in September 2025.

“The additional land that we have acquired in partnership with DfE around Queen’s Quay will help us to add additional spaces in the future.

“We will continue to work with our partners to realise growth on this campus and are grateful to our co-investors in the Department for the Economy for their financial support to ensure that, together, we are delivering.”

Chair of the Magee Taskforce Stephen Kelly said the announcement “ensures that momentum is maintained to deliver on the 10,000 minimum target agreed in the Programme for Government”.

“The university has purchased these properties from local owners who are as determined as all of us in seeing Ulster University’s expansion plans meeting the city’s economic, cultural and social ambitions,” he said.