Year: 2014

Construction group, Galliford Try, as the lead contractor to work on the next £50m phase of student accommodation and student facilities at the £450m Swansea University Bay Campus.

Work will commence on site next month to deliver an additional 545 student apartments for occupation in early 2016 as well as the development of a gym, sports hall, Student Union offices and meeting space, launderette and crèche.

Richard Powell, construction manager responsible for overseeing the project with regeneration specialist St Modwen, said: “We are delighted to welcome Galliford Try on board as the lead contractor for this important next phase in the Bay Campus development for Swansea University …

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Britain’s student housing market, particularly in the cities, is currently thriving with property investors at home and overseas.

However, new regulations could leave a definite mark on this sector and potentially slow down its growth.

Demand for student properties is very high, particularly in major cities. As a result, family housing is being rapidly brought up and converted into houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) to be inhabited by students. This was done both in an effort to meet demand and in order to bring in the best returns, as investors generally reap more from student housing than standard buy-to-let properties …

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Councillors have approved another 109 student beds for Durham, despite claims the city is now suffering a gross over-supply of such accommodation.

Durham County Council today (Tuesday, July 22) backed CCL Group’s scheme to build 109 student bedrooms across five blocks on the site of the now-closed Durham Light Infantryman (DLI) pub, on Gilesgate, Durham City.

The pub will be demolished to make way for the development …

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Purpose-built student housing at a number of leading university cities and towns in Scotland has First Class potential for investors, according to in a new report from international real estate adviser Savills.

Glasgow and Aberdeen have joined Edinburgh and St Andrews in the top investor rankings for university towns and cities issued by Savills.

The rankings for 2014 are published in the report ‘Spotlight: UK Student Housing’ , which also reveals that investment in the student housing market totalled £5 billion in the past two years and transactions are forecast to total £2.5 billion this year …

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A decision on whether to grant planning permission for student accommodation on Queen Street that has angered local residents is set to be made this evening.

The scheme could see 130 student rooms built on the former car park of the Rougemont Telephone Exchange.

It was adjourned at a meeting earlier this month but members of Exeter City Council’s planning committee are due to rule on the application at a meeting that starts at 5.30pm today (Monday) at the civic centre …

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Aberdeen students could be moving into a nine-storey accommodation block as early as September 2015, the Evening Express can reveal today.

Black Cube Ltd is preparing to lodge plans to demolish a disused four-storey office block at Causewayend in Aberdeen before developing the student facility which would accommodate 200 people.

The scheme is the third of its kind to be lodged in the Causewayend area this year …

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A decision is due next week on plans for a city centre site once occupied by a notorious eyesore building.

The former 13-storey Westgate House in Newcastle, which blocked views as it straddled Westgate Road, was knocked down seven years ago after a campaign for its demolition.

The site has lain vacant ever since, and sits alongside the empty Norwich Union House …

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Plans for the construction of £40 million accommodation on the former St Michael’s college building and old police depot site in Little Woodhouse have been approved by planning chiefs.

The scheme, by the Watkins Jones Group, will provide three new buildings comprising of student accommodation (320 bedspaces), key worker accommodation (259 units) and 61 open market apartments on land at St John’s Road and Belle Vue Road.

All existing buildings on the former police station depot and St Michael’s College site would be demolished except the original 1908 element of the college which would be retained and refurbished to form part of the proposed keyworker accommodation …

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Durham County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a student housing development at Sheraton Park, Neville’s Cross, will result in a £420k injection in development funding for the local community.

The decision means that the specialist student housing developer, Alumno Developments, will transform two large, derelict Edwardian buildings on the Sheraton Park Estate into purpose-built student accommodation as well as providing substantial community investment – a landmark contribution for this type of proposal – in the neighbouring area.

The funding will be used for a variety of local initiatives including provision of a public art project, new residential footpaths and the creation of substantial new parkland …

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Newly-listed Empiric Student Property PLC Thursday said it had agree to acquire the freehold of a direct-let student accommodation property in Birmingham from MSAF008 Mansion Brook Selly Oak Ltd, a subsidiary of The Mansion Group, in a deal worth GBP12 million.

The property consists of 106 studio beds, together with secure car parking facilitates, communal kitchen and laundry areas.

Empiric said the property is located a five-minute walk from the University of Birmingham and is next to Edge Apartments, which it has also agreed to acquire …

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