Bouygues UK completes £168m student accommodation project in Essex

Leading construction company Bouygues UK has completed The Pastures, its £168m project to deliver 1,262 new student bedrooms on the Colchester Campus for the University of Essex.

The project was developed by Uliving, the student accommodation arm of Bouygues UK’s sister company Linkcity, in partnership with leading global investor, developer and fund manager Equitix. Bouygues Energies & Services will oversee the facilities management now that the development is complete.

The Pastures will bring an additional 1,262 student bedrooms to the Colchester campus, split across five new buildings. One of these blocks will create a new hub which will include a reception, a post room, an administrative area, and a student services centre, along with staff welfare facilities.

This development is the third phase of student accommodation that Uliving and Bouygues UK have delivered for the University of Essex, following the completion of Phase 1 (648 new-build bedrooms and the refurbishment of 772 bedrooms) and Phase 2 (643 bedrooms) in 2013 and 2018 respectively.

Oliver Campbell, Development Director at Linkcity and CEO of Uliving said,

“In time for the new academic year, we are proud to have successfully delivered this new student accommodation project for The University of Essex. Despite the post-pandemic challenges to supply chains that we faced, we maintained the fast pace of progress on the project, delivering 1,262 high-quality student bedrooms in two years.

“The completed project showcases our ability to design, build, finance, and operate student accommodation, and couldn’t have been achieved without the close collaboration among all partners.”

Chris Oldham, University of Essex Deputy Registrar (Infrastructure and Environments) said:

“We are delighted to be offering this fabulous new student residential accommodation at our Colchester Campus. The new development provides a range of high-quality accommodation choices, which is key to students enjoying a positive living and learning experience on our campus.

“Growing our accommodation on campus enables us to align this to our growth in student numbers and satisfy the needs of our students. We are proud of our excellent relationship with our partners in delivering this new accommodation.”