Topping out ceremony for £30m university residences

A topping-out ceremony has been planned to mark a major milestone in a multi-million pound student residence development at the University of Hull.

Work on the £30m complex at the Cottingham Road campus began in June and the event on Thursday, December 17 will celebrate the half-way point in the development, which will see six new accommodation blocks created.

The site will house 560 students in deluxe and standard eight and four bedroom flats, studio and wheelchair accessible flats, plus communal kitchen, social and learning spaces.

Recent work includes installing metal decking to hold concrete flooring in place on the upper level of block five, with flights of stairs added.

The topping out ceremony will celebrate the milestone, with the on-site team sharing highlights from the project so far, as well as thanking the delivery team for their energy and commitment to date.

Trudi Vout, Director of Campus and Accommodation Services at the University of Hull, said: “These new residences form part of our on-going commitment to provide the best possible living experience for our students.

“Once finished, they will boast great architecture and contemporary interiors, as well as efficient technology and infrastructure, ensuring they meet the needs of our future students.”

The student residences are part of a £200m campus and infrastructure investment at the university.

Earlier this year, a £28m redevelopment of the Brynmor Jones Library was completed, while ongoing investment includes a £9.5m refurbishment of Middleton Hall and creation of a new £28m health campus.

Chris Paget, Director of Estates at the University of Hull, said: “These student residences are so important for the university and the city in terms of attracting talent to the region and enabling us to compete amongst the best in higher education.

“Universities need world class accommodation, which I have no doubt this will be.

“Everyone on site, from contractors to operatives, has a vital role to play and we want to recognise that, as well as saying thank you for such a successful delivery to date.”

Sewell Construction’s Project Manager Martin Standley said the development is already making its mark on the skyline.

He said: “It’s a massive achievement to get to this point and you can’t underestimate the amount of effort that’s already been put in, which is all down to the work of the project team, both on site and behind the scenes.

“Looking at the magnitude of the site, it’s one of the biggest building projects we have been involved in in terms of its size and the amount of material going into it is phenomenal.

“It’s certainly going to make its mark on the landscape. While we are the people doing this as a development exercise, like everyone else in the city, we want to see it be successful and the next thing we want to see is it full of students.

“Being local, it’s important our success here breeds success for the city.”