Year: 2013

Up to 61 new student flats could be created in the city  centre.

Forshaw Land has asked Nottingham City Council for permission to transform Hally House office block, in Hounds Gate, into self-contained flats. If approved, they will be “single-person studios”, each containing a study area, sleeping area, small kitchen and en-suite toilet and shower room. There would also be a communal lounge and a small gymnasium with exercise machines on the ground floor.

Alterations to the outside of the building and its appearance would be minimal.

The design and access statement which accompanies the planning application states: “The proposal for student accommodation relates to the University of Nottingham in particular …

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New plans have been revealed to transform a former mill into student accommodation.

A planning application has been submitted to Bath and North East Somerset Council to demolish the Twerton Mill on Lower Bristol Road and replace it with accommodation for more than 300 students.

The plans, submitted by the Pegasus Group on behalf of developers Paperwave, include 279 bedrooms across three buildings, plus a further 50 bedrooms in seven town houses …

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A luxury £13m student housing complex has been given the green light despite concerns it could turn out to be a city centre ‘white elephant’.

Councillors voted unanimously to allow the development in Preston’s Friargate area, the latest in a series of accommodation projects planned for undergraduates at the University of Central Lancashire.

But they insisted on a list of 20 conditions, with last year’s Guild Mayor Coun Carl Crompton, who represents the University ward, admitting: “I’m a bit concerned we might be going down the avenue of over-saturation of student accommodation within the city centre.” …

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It has been a year of challenges for the higher education sector.

After an applications cycle that was full of surprises, the end of cycle report from UCAS confirmed what many of us had suspected, that this year’s applicants were strongly motivated by university reputation.

On the international stage, the British Council’s “The Shape of Things To Come” reminded us that the centre of power in the HE world is likely to move east from 2020 onwards …

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Accommodation for more than 600 students is being planned in a development next to Hyde Park flats that could ease the strain on other parts of Sheffield.

Developers believe there is still a demand for purpose-built student homes in the city – and in the latest scheme are focusing on a site off Maltravers Road, at the Wybourn side of Hyde Park.

They are seeking council permission to replace workshops in the Globe II Business Centre and a BT office tower with a complex up to 12 storeys with 641 bedrooms and its own shop, bar, restaurant, gym and laundry …

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McLaren Property has sold a student accommodation scheme in Cambridge to Apache Capital, in a £26 million deal.

The Brunswick House Student Accommodation Scheme, comprising 251 student beds, opened last year. It’s now over 70% let for the 2014 academic year.  John Gatley, managing director of McLaren, commented: ““This has been a very successful development for McLaren of a prime student residential scheme, and has further strengthened our relationship with Apache Capital.”

McLaren and Apache are joint venture partners on the £45 million Paris Gardens student accommodation development in London …

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Plans to extend student accommodation in Greater Manchester were rejected because the need for such accommodation had not been fully justified.

The building provided accommodation for 35 students and the appellant planned to provide 30 flats containing 104 bedspaces.

He submitted a letter from a higher education college which offered support for the scheme, and challenged the council’s evidence which suggested that the demand for student accommodation was likely to fall due to a reduction in the number of people taking up higher education places by both UK and foreign students …

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Administrators for the Opal Property Group have begun marketing its North West assets.

KPMG and PwC have appointed Savills and DTZ respectively to sell student accommodation blocks belonging to the Manchester-based property group, which collapsed in March with debts estimated at up to £1bn.

Ernst & Young Real Estate Corporate Finance is advising on the sale of a portfolio of 19 Opal student and professional housing assets, including sites in Liverpool in Manchester …

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Mansell, a Balfour Beatty brand, has commenced a £8.8 million fast-track fit out of two halls of residence for Loughborough University.

The first phase of work involves the refurbishment and upgrade of the Eggington halls of residence. The second phase will see improvement works at the nearby Falkner site. The existing halls of residence, which were originally constructed in 1974, are made up of 73 two and three-storey accommodation blocks. One bedroom from each of the three-storey blocks will be removed to provide enhanced communal living and kitchen space.
A full refurbishment of the halls, sub-warden flats, reception and games room will be completed. This will include asbestos removal, mechanical and electrical upgrades together with the fitting of new floors, ceilings, kitchens and bathrooms. In addition, furniture, fixtures and fittings will be replaced and the blocks redecorated. A new ‘social hub’ will include a launderette, together with bicycle and bin storage facilities.

This recent appointment increases Mansell’s portfolio at Loughborough University with work underway to deliver a new state-of-the-art Health Exercise and Bioscience building …

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Residents are preparing for a crunch meeting with developers over plans for a huge block of flats for 300 students on the Cambridge Road estate.

An application to build a seven storey unit on the former site of the Duke’s Tavern pub has been submitted to Kingston Council by AK II Property Investments.

It proposes building 109 studios and 191 cluster flats, plus a 99 square meter retail unit …

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