NUI Galway has been granted planning permission for a new €10 million student village in Newcastle, accommodating around 430 people.

College authorities sought permission last July for permission to build the new facilities on the four-acre site on the Northern Campus on Upper Newcastle Road.

“The university has identified an urgent need to add significant student accommodation in addition to the existing Corrib Village,” the application reads.

The plans include 429 bed spaces, with communal living areas in 3, 4 and 5-storey blocks with courtyards, and access through Corrib Village.

It will comprise 57 apartments with six en suite bedrooms; 11 units of five en suite bedrooms and 8 units of four en suites in a five-storey block and 3 three and four-storey blocks.

There will also be a reception and office area, a laundrette, a common room for up to 150 people.

Space for ‘potential commercial activities’ has also been identified.

There were seven individual objections to the plans, which voiced concerns that the height and scale of the development would be out of character with what is a predominantly two-storey residential area.

NUIG previously explained there is a significant shortage of student bed spaces – there are currently 2,700 purpose-built beds available to meet a core demand from 9,500 students. The university has more than 17,000 students and 2,200 staff.

For more on what’s planned for the site, see this week’s Galway City Tribune