News in Brief – April 2022

Planning permission has been granted to transform the vacant Debenhams department store in the centre of Gloucester into a new sustainable City Campus for University of Gloucestershire. Led by architectural practice ADP, the adaptive re-use of the former department store will be a major catalyst in the reinvigoration of Gloucester’s high street and its wider city centre regeneration. The campus, which will anchor the University firmly in the community, is also set to house public health, wellbeing and cultural services, to create a thriving city hub.

Developer Dominvs Group has received planning permission for a 644-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme at 61-65 Holborn Viaduct in the City of London, supported by the London School of Economics (LSE).The developer said over 35% of the new beds will be affordable, meeting an urgent need for student housing in the Square Mile as the LSE seeks to increase its number of student beds from 4,500 to 6,000 over the next 5 years.

Morgan Sindall Construction has been appointed by the University of Huddersfield to build a new on-campus Faith Centre. The 1,000m² two-storey centre will provide community space, a congregational hall, separate male and female Muslim prayer rooms, a Christian and multi-faith room and a Chaplain’s office. Additionally, the Faith Centre, which will meet the WELL standard, will also incorporate learning and support areas, an equipment store, and accessible toilets.

Kier has been appointed by North Somerset Council and Cabot Learning Federation to deliver a new £30.5M net-zero carbon building for Winterstoke Hundred Academy in Weston-Super-Mare. The new school building, funded by Homes England’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, will be an expansion of the Winterstoke Hundred Academy and will provide 900 new pupil places when complete. Procured through the Southern Construction Framework, the expansion supports North Somerset Council’s commitment to make North Somerset carbon neutral by 2030 and the three-storey 80,000m² building has been designed to achieve net-zero carbon in operation, a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and have a 10% biodiversity net gain.