Students are being encouraged to give their views on what it is that they want from accommodation and workshops to the some of the people behind the Denton Holme Student Village and Arts and Crafts Centre.

Plans for the student village, which will include student and graduate accommodation as well as Arts workshops, have been moving forward quickly since planning permission was granted in mid-December. Although a lot of plans are firmly in place, the people behind the development are keen to include student views as to what they would need out of any accommodation and work spaces.

Katherine Tuck, co-director of the Bank gallery said “We want to make it the premier student accommodation in Carlisle. Top quality living accommodation for students with resources on site so they don’t have go to a campus to use a computer. We start ground work in the next couple of weeks and are hoping to have the first phase built by September which will include 18 living spaces along with the craft workshops and aim to have it all completed by January 2011.”

Accommodation at the village is currently planed to have a mixture of double and single rooms, each with en-suite and come with furnishings such as beds, desks and wardrobes; there will also be WiFi internet access, a TV aerial socket and access to a fully fitted kitchen.

The village itself will contain security cameras for safety, workshops that will cater to most Arts and crafts, and the site will include a launderette and internet bar, along with the local shops that already exist in Denton Holme.

The village will not only be there to offer places for artists to display and create their work but somewhere that they can sell their work through. Kat Tuck explained that “They are hopefully going to be businesses too, so that students have the potential to make a living out of what they love doing” before Viv Dodd added “There will be business support and advice on site. It’s a cliché but it’ll be a one-stop-shop.” The site will contain artist support as well as the business advice, with the local art community offering their own experience to students about everything from help gaining funding from the Arts Council to help with networking with galleries and other artists.

If you have way in which you feel that the site can be more student friendly, would like more information, or are interested in letting the workshops when the are finished you can e-mail either Katherine Tuck at katherine_tuck@yahoo.co.uk or Viv Dodd at CB4B@live.co.uk.