12 September 2023 , 14:18
779
0
Kirstie Allsopp has slammed the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) after it assigned a close family friend of hers accommodation that is over an hour away from its campus.
The UK property expert took to Twitter on Monday to reveal that the Fresher student had been placed in housing in Cheltenham - a whopping 40 miles from the prestigious third level institution.
Kirstie, 52, revealed that the train journey's duration is 41 minutes while the station is a 25 minute walk from campus. If that wasn't bad enough, each return ticket costs £12.60, which brings the total cost of the student's public transport to a staggering £250 a month. The Location, Location, Location presenter said she was "enraged" by the news, condemning the placement as contrary to the university experience.
"That's not student life," she wrote, before calling it, "effing commuting" and suggesting that her friend "might as [well] skip uni and start work right away." Kirstie, who lives in London with her partner Ben Anderson and their two teenage sons, reiterated her outrage over the situation on Tuesday morning.
Kristie Allsopp has slammed Bristol University over its 'insane' student housing (UWE Bristol)"Woke up early still thinking about this, the idea of leaving home for the first time, wanting to make friends and do things on campus but not being able to afford the train fair, worrying about the last train & train strikes, it makes a mockery of the Uni experience," she wrote.
Taylor Swift seen looking cosy with Matty Healy's mum Denise Welch months ago
In one comment replying to a fan, the Love It or List It star described the long commute as "insane" before adding, "I am both heartbroken at what his experience of uni will now be and enraged that this is even considered reasonable."
Many of Kirstie's followers resonated with her dismay, having also suffered the consequences of the UK's student housing crisis.
Kirstie Allsopp with Love It or List It co-host Phil Spencer (EAST KILBRIDE NEWS)"My daughter used to get up at 5am, get a bus, a train, then the uni bus which took 11/2 hours, & arrive for 9am(with no traffic) she did the return trip too and arrived home around 7.30/8pm, had tea, a shower and bed, she did this for 4 yrs , because she didn’t like sleeping out," one parent commented on her tweet.
"Tell me about it! My nephew is due to start at Cardiff University and there isn't any accommodation at all! I thought all 1st years were guaranteed a room but it seems not!" another exasperated person wrote.
Others were quick to validate Kirstie's anger, with one follower condemning the placement as "exploitative" and "utterly ridiculous." The Channel 4 star agreed, replying, "Yup, pretty much sums it up."