Category: Development Activity

UPP has been selected as the Preferred Bidder to develop, in partnership with Durham University, a detailed scheme proposition for the refurbishment of the College of St Hild and St Bede and the development of new college accommodation at the Leazes Road site.

One of the key drivers for this project for both Durham University and Durham City is to increase the proportion of students living in high quality university owned accommodation.

The site benefits from a south-facing aspect fronting on to the River Wear. It is also a short walk from the city centre and nearby Gilesgate area. The project is set to deliver 1,000 student beds.

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The L-shaped Broadway Two building at the top of Renfield Street will join the recently completed office block and hotel in phase one. The vacant site was previously home to studios for STV.

The development is being led by ES Renfield Ltd, part of McAleer & Rushe Property, and designed by Cooper Cromar …

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Queen’s University secures planning permission from Belfast City Council planning committee to build Belfast’s first certified Passivhaus PBSA scheme, which is also the largest certified Passivhaus project on the island of Ireland.

Passivhaus certification is a globally recognised standard whereby very little energy is used for heating and cooling, making the building ultra-low emission.

The new PBSA development will deliver 459 student units, adding to Queen’s 3,500 beds across the city that it currently owns and manages …

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One of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers Barings has announced that it has acquired a plot of land for the development of its first purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Italy.

Completing on a brownfield site in Rome, on behalf of its second European real estate value-add fund (BREEVA II), the disused site in the east of the city centre has planning permission for the development of a new PBSA scheme of c. 8,000 sqm, comprising 270 studio rooms and amenities including tennis and padel courts.

The scheme at Via Umberto Partini is well connected to Rome’s public transport system, with easy access to several bus and tram lines (lines 545, 163 and 409), with La Sapienza University – continental Europe’s largest institution with 110,000 students – just 15 minutes away by bus. It is also within walking distance from Tiburtina, the high-speed railway station and the second largest train station in Rome …

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One of the UK’s largest privately owned investment groups – Topland – has gained planning consent for a new landmark purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) development in Cardiff city centre.

Based on Greyfriars Road, the approved plans will deliver 585 student beds in a mix of studio, en-suite clusters and one bed apartments in a 28-storey tower. The development will replace a vacant 1960s office building that formerly housed Tiger Tiger nightclub.

Designed by architects Rio and Westworks, the scheme will have far reaching views over the city centre and Cardiff Castle. It will provide amenity space, a roof garden, and commercial space at ground floor alongside the student apartments …

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Plans have been approved to turn a 28,000 sq ft Nottingham city centre building into a mixed-use scheme.

Maven Property (Nottingham) has been given the go-ahead by the city council to transform the tired-looking 191-195 Lower Parliament Street by adding up to three storeys to the existing two-floor building.

The move, says the developer, will create a scheme that will retain the ground floor retail units at the site while adding 104 student bedspaces on the upper floors. The new development will reach five storeys at its tallest …

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Provider of student accommodation – Unite Students – has received planning approval for Meridian Square, a landmark 952-bed purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in east London and Freestone Island, a 500-bed PBSA scheme in Bristol.

Situated next to Meridian Steps near Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, the Stratford, London PBSA is a 41-storey tower targeted to complete in 2028.

The Meridian Square scheme in Stratford, which has approval with conditions and is yet to obtain full planning permission, will deliver 1,151m2 of commercial space which will include workspace and a retail area. Part of the space is earmarked for Canning Town-based You Press, a social enterprise for young people and underrepresented communities …

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• Unite Students’ new property in Edinburgh combines student, build-to-rent (BTR) and affordable units – making it the first of its kind in the company’s 70,000-bed portfolio
• Burnet Point will be Unite Students’ lowest carbon new-build to date
• The property’s life cycle assessment is currently 702 kgCO2e/m2, the Group’s lowest, another step towards its 2030 net zero development targets
• It will have 298 student beds, 49 private-rented and 17 affordable residential apartments, and dedicated community space
• Completion expected in September 2025 for the 2025/26 academic year …

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