Derbyshire’s Bowmer and Kirkland starts work on £75m Lincoln student flats scheme

A Derbyshire construction giant has started work on a £75 million scheme which will see it deliver almost 1,400 student flats in Lincoln.

Bowmer and Kirkland, which is headquartered at Heage, near Belper, is building 10 separate student accommodation buildings for Aberdeen Standard Life, on behalf of the University of Lincoln.

Once completed, the project will provide 1,372 rooms and associated infrastructure and internal works.

Early work has included the partial demolition of St Mark’s Retail Park, off Tritton Road, to create space for the new development.

In a statement, Bowmer and Kirkland said: “Each room will be part of an eight to 12-room cluster and will have common living and kitchen facilities.

The completed development will feature almost 1,400 rooms (Corstorphine and Wright Architects)

“En-suite shower rooms will be built off site and lifted into position as work progresses. Accessible bedrooms will also have a fully inclusive student experience.”

It is not the first project that Bowmer and Kirkland has undertaken for the University of Lincoln. The company recently completed three accommodation buildings at Cygnet Wharf.

The St Marks project is due to be completed in September 2021, with the first phase of 400 units being completed for the start of the 2020 academic year.

The University of Lincoln said it needs the extra accommodation to meet existing and future demand (Corstorphine and Wright Architects)

The University of Lincoln has said it needs the extra accommodation to meet anticipated future demand from existing and new students.

Once completed, the new properties will be managed and maintained by the university.

In a statement, the University of Lincoln said: “The University of Lincoln continues to attract students from across the UK and around the world, underpinned by our record for teaching quality and an outstanding student experience.

“The St Marks student accommodation development will deliver a further step change in the availability of high quality, university-managed student accommodation in Lincoln and is expected to be in high demand.”

The new student housing marks the start of the first phase of Aberdeen Standard Investments’ broader £150 million regeneration of St Marks. The mixed-use scheme will deliver new retail and leisure, housing, a hotel and improved parking.