Carillion wins two contracts for student accommodation

11 August 2004
Construction and business services company Carillion has negotiated two student accommodation contracts for framework customer UNITE Group plc.

The Forge in Sheffield is a £32 million contract comprising the demolition of existing buildings and the construction of 1,162 student bedrooms, including amenity areas and retail units. The site is located between London Road and Bramall Lane, adjacent to Sheffield United’s football ground. Also included in the project is the renovation and refurbishment of an existing Grade 2 listed building. Demolition began on site in May with completion scheduled for August 2005.

The Heights Phase 2 in Birmingham, worth £9.7 million, follows the successful delivery of Phase 1, a £14.5 million development due to be handed over in September. Phase 1 comprised new build and refurbishment works to provide 568 ensuite student bedrooms, and Phase 2 will consist of a further 347 ensuite bedrooms with shared kitchens and communal areas. The common room, gym and quiet room in this second phase will cater for all 915 students living in the scheme as a whole. Demolition began in June and the scheme is scheduled for completion in July 2005.

Carillion operations director Dave Smith said: “Phase 2 was awarded to Carillion in part due to the excellent working relationship fostered during Phase 1. Carillion has a framework agreement with UNITE and is working with them in a number of locations around the country including Glasgow, Leeds and Cardiff. The partnership began in May last year when we took over completion of a project in Calgary Street, Glasgow. Altogether we have delivered, or are currently working on, contracts worth a total of over £55 million, and are in negotiations for more.”

The two projects in Sheffield and Birmingham are based on modular bedroom and kitchen units produced at UNITE’s manufacturing facility and delivered to site pre-finished.

The advantages of using prefabricated modules are that they provide better, more consistent quality, are safer to install, generate less waste and reduce programme times. The Heights Phase 2 uses cantilevered bedroom modules to articulate the primary elevations. This shows a progression of the design development and demonstrates a step forward in modular construction. This progression is helped by the fact that UNITE owns one of the largest prefabrication facilities in Europe that produces the modules.