WIREDGOV

New student village will be built at the University of Gloucestershire’s Pittville campus in Cheltenham, thanks to a £40 million government guarantee.

In another boost to the government’s plans to get Britain building, this initial deal will be crucial to unlocking private investment that will finance this new infrastructure project.

It’s the first time that a guarantee has been given to a privately-financed university accommodation project and construction can now begin on the village which will have over 570 new rooms. Refurbishment will also take place on the existing media centre including a gym, dining hall, students’ union office, and over 1,000 square metres of office space for university staff.

Work is expected to complete in time for undergraduates for the 2017/18 academic year.

The Spending Review announced the government will extend the availability of the £40 billion UK Guarantees Scheme to March 2021, to continue to help infrastructure projects raise finance from banks and the capital markets.

Chancellor George Osborne said:

Better infrastructure is about improving people’s lives, and that’s why we are determined to get Britain building again.

Our initial deal will deliver a modern, new student village to give the next generation of students the first-class facilities they deserve.

In my Spending Review we announced that we’re extending our UK guarantees scheme to March 2021 to help kickstart other exciting infrastructure projects like this one right across the country.

Nicolas Guérin Director at Uliving, said:

One of the significant advantages that we have at Uliving is our ability to create solid, viable financial solutions that help us to fund development projects for universities. It is this continued capacity to find ways of securing funds that has enabled Uliving to increase our presence within the student accommodation sector and become one of the largest providers in the market.

The financial model for the new student village in Cheltenham is an innovative funding solution, which was backed by the government. Now we’re able to start the delivery of this scheme which will upgrade the university’s existing student facilities and, we hope, attract more students and investment to Gloucestershire.

Stephen Marston, Vice Chancellor of the University of Gloucestershire, added:

The university is delighted that financial close has been achieved on the scheme. This means we can now move ahead with the building work. The new student village at Pittville will give our future students a great place to live, with well-designed and well-managed accommodation and good facilities in a wonderful location.

This is a major step in ensuring we can provide high-quality accommodation for all first year undergraduate students.

Further information

The scheme will be delivered by Uliving, the company formed by Bouygues Development and Derwent Living. The development, which involves the delivery of 577 new bedrooms and the refurbishment of the 214 existing bedrooms, as well as the media centre, will be built by Bouygues UK, one of the country’s leading contractors. Bouygues Development manages the development and construction management phase of the project. Derwent Living is responsible for operational and facilities management elements.