Construction group appointed to £60m scheme
Developers have appointed VINCI Construction UK to deliver the first phase of a £60m student accommodation scheme in Coventry.
Barberry Developments is delivering the Bishop Gate scheme, which will eventually provide 725 student beds in a development consisting of a three-storey brick and sandstone plinth and three residential blocks above.
The project is intended to transform the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office into a high-quality, purpose-built student accommodation with gardens, bicycle storage, multi-use courtyards and an impressive frontage on to Bishop Street and Tower Street, including retail units open to the public.
The development is due for completion in time for the start of the 2018/19 academic year.
Barberry director Henry Bellfield said: “We are making tremendous progress at Bishop Gate. VINCI Construction UK has enormous experience of delivering similar student accommodation schemes, including more than 800 units at Mason halls of residence for the University of Birmingham and 656 high rise student rooms at Bagot Street, near Aston University.
“We are delighted to be working alongside them and we are confident that together we will deliver a development the university and the city can be proud of. It is going to be a very striking development and a major improvement to the Coventry skyline. It is a high-quality scheme that will help improve the image of the city.”
Barberry and Coventry University received planning consent from Coventry City Council for a development providing a total 1,116 student units, across five tower blocks rising up to 17 storeys, to accommodate the university’s growing student population.
Last year Barberry appointed architects Stride Treglown, with student accommodation divisional director Kieran Lilley leading the project. Arcadis are cost consultants, with Hoare Lea as M&E engineers and Nolan Associates as Civil & Structural engineers.
