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Cold food in a tent for $17,500

Erin Gourley

Students paying $17,500 each year to live in Weir House were shocked to arrive to major construction and a marquee on the lawn that would serve as their dining room.

Stella Beattie, a resident at the Victoria University of Wellington hall, said only 60 students could fit in the chilly tent at a time.

‘‘The wind came in, the rain came in, there was no protection from it,’’ Beattie said.

Meals were prepared at other halls and provided to Weir House students in takeaway containers and were often cold by the time they were served. ‘‘It was pretty miserable to be honest,’’ she said.

Residents were told about the construction on January 31, two weeks before they moved into the hall. ‘‘We got here and there was construction everywhere and a massive tent on the front lawn,’’ Beattie said.

Weir House had no dining room for the first six weeks of the university year.

Student magazine Salient brought the issues to light in an article where one resident described their struggle to complete an online therapy session over the noise of construction. Students also reported that it was hard to focus on classes or study from their rooms.

Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington acting chief operating officer Simon Johnson said the university was making the main building weathertight, and at the start of the year demolished one wing of the hall.

After residents’ meetings, the Weir House students sent two open letters to Rainsforth Dix, director of campus living, outlining their concerns at the ‘‘very disheartening’’ situation. They complained about problems, including the ‘‘barely edible’’ food, the cold marquee and mould in Andrea Brander house.

Throughout the day construction workers on the scaffolding outside their windows would ask them to open or shut their windows and move items from their windowsills. This escalated from ‘‘an inconvenience’’ to ‘‘a complete invasion of resident privacy’’, they said.

Johnson acknowledges the construction work had been disruptive for residents.

In response, the university has provided credit for one week’s rent, or $473.

‘‘We’re not being fairly compensated,’’ Beattie said.

Victoria University has not yet responded to the second letter, sent on August 10, asking for compensation because of ‘‘unhealthy’’ living conditions in Andrea Brander House – the second wing of Weir House. Residents complained of mould on windowsills and severe health impacts.

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2022-08-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

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