The UK’s biggest university accommodation provider has announced plans to build a new 600-bed development at the heart of Bristol's biggest-ever regeneration project.
Unite Students, which is headquartered in Bristol but runs properties around the country, will build Marsh Mills adjacent to the University of Bristol's new Temple Quarter campus. The development will cost a total of £75m. A lease agreement is in place with the Russell Group university for at least half of the rooms.
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The property has planning permission for 596 beds and will open in time for the 2025/26 academic year. The property will also include communal features including study spaces, a roof terrace, a gym and cycle storage.
The building's operational energy consumption has been reduced through a ‘fabric first’ approach. The development’s embodied carbon saving is 7,300 tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) over the lifecycle of the building. The development also meets the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Climate Challenge’s 2025 targets for embodied carbon in new residential buildings.
Tom Brewerton, group development director at Unite Students, said: “Bristol is where it all began for Unite Students and this new property is in a vitally important scheme for students in the city. Marsh Mills will be built alongside the University of Bristol’s new Temple Quarter campus plus the city’s Temple Meads train station.
“This development is further evidence of Unite Students’ commitment to delivering new supply of high-quality student accommodation in cities where it is needed most. Marsh Mills will have a low-carbon impact on the environment and will be built and open in time for the start of 2025/6 academic year, adding to our portfolio in the city and contributing to the much-needed regeneration of the Temple Quarter and St Philip’s Marsh area of the city.”
