Pictured: An artist’s impression of the Bishop Gate development in Coventry.
VINCI Construction UK has been appointed to deliver phase one of the Bishop Gate student accommodation development in Coventry city centre, Barberry Developments announced today.
Work is now underway to deliver the £60 million first phase of the project, which will provide 725 student units in a three-storey brick and sandstone plinth and three residential blocks above.
The development is to be completed in time for the 2018/19 academic year, according to Barberry director Henry Bellfield. The project is situated on the former Royal Mail sorting office site.
He said: “We are making tremendous progress at Bishop Gate. We have now appointed VINCI Construction UK – a world leader in construction and civil engineering - as contractors to deliver this exciting development.
“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.”
VINCI Construction UK’s Regional Construction Director, Edward Biddle, said: “We are delighted to have secured this prestigious project with Barberry Developments and look forward to working with them to deliver this scheme for Coventry University.”
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.
The project will transform the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office into 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.
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.
Barberry is a member of the Coventry and Warwickshire MIPIM Partnership, made up of leading companies and organisations, which support the area’s presence at the show in Cannes, France. Key development and investment opportunities are highlighted through a major presence at the event and also through a series of key events. This is the seventh consecutive year that Barberry has supported the region’s MIPIM delegation.
Henry added: “While providing essential accommodation capacity for the university, this is also a prime site in the heart of Coventry so we are keen to ensure that this scheme is of the highest quality and enjoys the support of the wider community.
“Coventry University has been awarded modern university of the year 2014, 15 and 16 in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, which is unprecedented. Those accolades demonstrate the university’s growing success and reflect the great things it is doing for students and the city.”