Construction work has started on a £5.4m student accommodation and employment scheme on an historic and “challenging” site in Bath.
Sixty-three flats, including a two-bedroom studio, will be built in one building on the Old Bakery site in Twerton, while a second building will feature 5,000 sq ft of flexible open-plan employment space.
Planning permission was granted for the scheme on Jews Lane in September 2019.
Groundworks have recently taken place on the site and with Network Rail on the nearby embankment. Construction is expected to finish next summer.
The scheme was designed by Bath-based architecture firm Nash Partnership for Bristol-based Deeley Freed Estates with building services design by Bristol consultancy Box Twenty.
Coventry-based Deeley Construction has been appointed as the principal contractor for the development.
The scheme features a pod design for the student bathrooms to standardise layouts, improve manufacturing quality of the product and to save time and labour hours on site.
The open plan employment space will be totally flexible with the ability to be sub-divided to cater for a number of potential uses.
Deeley Freed Estates said the accommodation building will cater for the growing student population in Bath, particularly the significant number of international students attending both the city’s universities.
Bristol-based Deeley Freed Estates development manager Ross Chester said: “We are pleased to be able to progress this development after a challenging few months and look forward to delivering the high-quality student accommodation and fully flexible workspace.
“We are now looking forward to working with Deeley Construction to ensure the development is ready for the student intake in Autumn 2022.”
Deeley Construction managing director Martin Gallagher added: “We’re pleased to be working again with our long-standing partners Deeley Freed Developments on this project and to extend our rich working history with the company.
“This is a mixed development comprising residential and commercial space and we have been involved at an early stage to advise on fulfilling pre-commencement planning conditions.
“As a trusted and respected Midlands developer, we are pleased to be expanding our footprint in Bath and our on-site team will ensure there is as little disruption as possible to the surrounding community for the duration of the project.
“A key objective for the project is to provide new jobs for local people and work experience for students, so are working closely with the local authority and Bath College to deliver these targets.
“It is a challenging site and we have been working closely with the client to reach a position where new-build construction can start on site. It’s fantastic to see work now underway.”
Despite their names Deeley constuction and Deeley Freed Estates are not connected.
Pictured on site, from left: Andrew Truswell, senior engineer at Box Twenty, Ross Chester of Deeley Freed, Martin Gallagher of Deeley Construction, and Steve Turner of Deeley Construction
