Construction firm revealed for 702-bed Island Quarter student scheme
Bowmer & Kirkland have won the contract to build the huge student accommodation scheme at Conygar’s Island Quarter redevelopment site in Nottingham city centre.
Work on the new accommodation – which forms part of the developer’s plans for intergenerational living on The Island Quarter, the £1bn 36-acre redevelopment – is likely to start on site shortly and be available for students from the start of the 2023/24 academic year.
The plans, drawn up by DAY Architectural for The Conygar Investment Company, feature an up-to-12-storey, 702-bed purpose-built student development, with blocks dedicated to a range of accommodation types including studios and cluster living.
With Nottingham facing an expected shortfall of 7,000 student beds in the coming years, the Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) on The Island Quarter will free up family homes currently used by students and help return them to their intended use.
Speaking when the plans were given planning approval last September, Christopher Ware, property director at Conygar, said: “Nottingham is a world-renowned university city, and the student population is growing rapidly to reflect that. Add in the demand from second and third-year students to remain in PBSA, and it is clear there is a real need for quality student beds in the city.
“This element of the scheme really supports our plans for intergenerational living across the site. One of the biggest impacts of the pandemic has been that people of all ages are reassessing their relationship with where they live, and we want to create places and spaces where people can live, work and thrive.”
David Jones, director at planning consultant AXIS, added: “This phase will be a real step forward for the development as a whole. The location of this phase – right next to BioCity and close to Sneinton – means that it will act as a beacon, bringing life to the eastern edge of the site and providing a space that will draw people into The Island Quarter.”
