Could anyone tell me anything they know about the Forge (besides the blurb you can find anywhere on the 'Net, I'm after real opinions)?

Renting through Sheffield Uni and they reckon that the cost for an Internet connection for 42 weeks is £240! :suspect: :loopy:

Anyone know any more than I do?

Many thanks!

Hi Kath,

I'm not sure what else you want to know.

I know what you're saying about the internet connection...i thought exactly the same thing!

my personal opinion is that the forge is overrated and they are not run very well.

email me at lwa04bh@sheffield.ac.uk if you want more info or want to know anything specific.

Bob

Originally posted by Kath2003
Could anyone tell me anything they know about the Forge (besides the blurb you can find anywhere on the 'Net, I'm after real opinions)?

Renting through Sheffield Uni and they reckon that the cost for an Internet connection for 42 weeks is £240! :suspect: :loopy:

Anyone know any more than I do?

Many thanks!

if you can find someone who can network this may be a cheaper solution as i know thats what my sister did in halls last year, altho i dont think its strictly allowed

Kath,

The Forge has around 1100 rooms of which Sheffield University have taken 350. The rest will be taken by Sheffield Hallam or rented personally by students. It is around 5 minutes walk to the centre of Sheffield, 10 minutes to Hallam and 20 minutes to Sheffield Uni at Broomhill. The flats consist of 3 to 6 bedroom with a small kitchen/sitting room at the end of the corridor. All rooms are ensuite but don't take the cat as you won't be able to swing it in the bathroom!

Basically, the uBroadband connection that Unite offer is the ONLY option you can have at the Forge. It will give you UP TO 512K connection speed but as there is a 50 to 1 contention ratio (i.e. up to 50 students could be sharing the same connection) then you are unlikely to get near this speed. The £240 breaks down to £5 per week plus £25 connection fee.

As you are not allowed to install a normal phone line in your room you are unable to get any other form of broadband/dial-up connection (unless you use your mobile phone). The terms also state that you are not allowed to do any form of networking including wireless lan.

They do apply restrictions on some types of application traffic e.g. peer to peer traffic will have a lower priority over normal Internet browsing. I have spoken to the uBroadband Helpdesk this morning to check if audio and video is allowed through for MSN Messenger. They confirmed that it is allowed through but would be unreliable due to the high contention ratio.

They also recommend an Internet Phone Service called, I think, Number4Life and claim the cost is just £1 per week. However, there is a £25 connection charge plus £6+ to send the phone to you and the you have to add VAT to all this. This makes it over double the advertised cost.

So your ONLY alternative is to use a mobile phone for your voice and Internet connectivity.

I, personally, feel a bit 'stitched up' by this as there is no real alternative and we will have to pay premium prices for a substandard service.

FAQs at www ubroadband net for more details.

As for the running of the Unite property I cannot really say yet....except we are to be given just 5minutes to unload the car on arrival day before we have to move it. I think not! Oh, and the place is still very much a building site at the moment.

Luckily, it will be the students that make this a great place to live irrespective of whether the accommodation lives up to Unite's claims or not.

Steve (parent)

Cheers for that guys.

I was actually asking on behalf of my sister - I'm at Exeter where the Internet charge is £60 for the whole year (and it's more like 8GB - lightning fast internally). The downside is you can't transfer files from outside so no downloading, no webcams etc. But I think I could live with that instead of paying the extra £180!! :loopy:

The Forge seems ideal, theoretically, but I'm a bit nervous about this company who seem to be running it - seems like they're out to make a lot of money out of these kids.

My sister keeps claiming it's only 10 minutes walk from Sheffield Uni but I think it's longer...it seems further away than the catered Halls, for sure? Maybe your 20 minute estimate is more realistic?

Kath,

On Sunday we walked from the main uni buildings at Brook Hill/Western Bank to the Forge, which is all downhill, and it took 20 minutes.

Unite/BT certainly appear to be getting the best end of the deal with the Internet Connections. A lot of the catered halls appear to get free Internet Connections as well as free food so my daughter loses out both ways (or is that me?).

There is no computer suite on site either. There is, what they called, an Internet Cafe. Unite said it has twelve Internet Connections but no PCs connected so you have to use your own laptop. A bit difficult with an ordinary PC especially if you're at the back of a queue of 1100 students!

Unite said that, once they receive a list of names from Sheffield Uni, they would be sending out a very comprehensive letter detailing everything about moving in etc.. so you should have a bit more info about the place then.

Cheers

Steve

Thanks once again for brilliant information.

20 minutes is a fair distance to be walking to Uni a couple of times a day but I guss she'll get fit :suspect:

My sister applied for catered accommodation and got The Forge so I'm not entirely sure what went on there.

I think my work here is done so I'll skidaddle back off to my little Exeter world..where the internet charges are reasonable! :D

hey, i got the forge, third choice, the ppl at the accomodation office said it was due 2 the ticked en-suite room, and so as there was none left instead of being put non-ensuite i was immediately put at the forge. I didn't know what to think when i found out, on one hand its a new complex and if complete should be brilliant but on the other will it be completed? and yea the internet is extortionate price, definately not going 2 be online then while im at uni, which shud be a change. The other thing is i no the uni put all the uni students together same with hallam, but i changed my room so i jst hope im still with ppl from the uni im going 2. And all that stuff we filled in about interests seems 2 have been a waste of time, i asked and they just said it was grouped almost randomly. My friends r rly jealous of the ensuite but with everything else 2 consider, internet, distance etc i jst hope everything will be ok, drew

Hi, does anyone know if the forge has a launderette? I looked on the features and it didn't mention it. thanks

Sorry I have to throw some negs in.

I have just joined this thread and now realise that the Forge is the concrete edifice being built off Bramall Lane.

It is a spirited 20 mins from uni.

It is however near no other student digs, for the uni these would be around Broomhill.

If all your course pals are in Broomhill (or Ecclesall Rd) then its going to be a tricky bus ride from the Forge so youd prob have to walk assuming students dont spend cash on taxis.

Now even I as a local in good shape and fairly streetwise wouldnt attempt such a journey at night after a few beers.
Id also think twice of walking back from the city centre at night.

Stick to accommodation in S10, S11 or city centre where most of these new 'super halls' are.

Cheers - happy to take PMs for more help :)

d

I'd have no problem walking back from broomhill or city at night after a few beers. Its not that far and i dont think its that rough - especially if you walk down broomgrove road from broomhill. My main objection to the forge would be that its not worth the money (i imagine) but then none of the halls are particulary.

I also quite like the mixing of Hallam and Uni students - its something i wish i'd done earlier - but there just wasn't much opportunity.

From the Forge to Sheffield Uni Students Union (and main campus) is about a mile, and takes me about 10 minutes - and i'm not in the greatest shape! It'll take 5-10 minutes to Collegiate Crescent if you're a Hallam student. If you want to get to uni quicker - get a bike. Its actually one of the few parts of sheffield that isn't too hilly.

The internet charges are taking the p**s tho!

b

Its less than a mile from the Forge to the Sheffield Union building

Take a look at this
http://tinyurl.com/bsqyo

This is quite a nice walk actually - you don't have to hit the ring road.

+ Most students tend to go out in town. Its a 10-15 minute walk back from Leadmill/Republic etc so it'll be the people in Ranmoor and Earnshaw who tend to pay for the taxis.

+There are loads of Sheffield Uni + Hallam students who live around the Ecceshall Road area.

Having lived in Earnshaw - which was great fun - it's still a grotty place to live for year (small beds and terrible food).

Basically you'll meet enough mates wherever you live so enjoy!

(+ Internet is free and fast at Uni - you don't need to be on it all the time!)

After all that info about the forge, if ur intrested in a room let me know!

Suppost to be moving in Sept 24th but im workin in Leeds so i need to shift it!

Double 'luxury' room with ensuit. 4 flatmates, 3 blokes (2 2nd yr and 1 3rd yr) and a 2nd yr bird!

Should be a notice in the listed accommodation board on this site, post a reply and ill contact u

peace out

I will be living in the forge :) got my letter through today!

Hey Kath,

I agree with you, these guys are out to make a lot of £ of students. I also agree with the opinion that I don't think much of the Unite group people....very unorganised.

It's more like a 20 min walk from the place to the main uni area (library/octagon centre/union).

PM me if you want more info or give me your sis' email addy, I'll look out for her if you want me to.

"Big Bad" Bob

PS I'm not big or bad...i just thought it would be cool to write that. LOL!

Unite were supposed to have sent out welcome packs, for all those arriving this Sunday, by the middle of this week. However, Sheffield Uni are not giving Unite the list of students staying in the Forge until after Sunday i.e after they've turned up (and they're supposed to be the clever people!). If you want a Welcome Pack sending to you you'll need to contact Unite today so they can stick it in the post.

Unite's Accommodation Team are available on 0114 2752043.

Cheers

Steve

Sounds like I'm lucky to be going back to my lovely Exeter house rather than The Forge (even if it means sharing a bathroom).

Considering "up north" is supposed to be cheap, it's pretty darn expensive :suspect:

Bob my msn is hunniethepig at hotmail dot com if you wanna add me. :thumbsup:

Originally posted by Le_blur
.... for all those arriving this Sunday....

Is sunday the main "moving in" day at the forge? What about other halls, uni and hallam? I'm still abit confused with when freshers week/fornight/month is with the 2 unis, do they have different term dates but same freshers weeks/moving in dates or have i got that the wrong way round?

-PK-

Gimmesome, Hallam are having their freshers week now, while Sheff uni had theirs last week. my term started on monday...while my hallam roomies are still on freshers.

i know...bummer!

Hey, Kath, I'll email you..dont have access to net on a regular basis to chat on msn.

take care


Bob