Member Article

York Students Build On Education At New Development

A York building that is being transformed into a high quality student accommodation complex, is already benefitting students from the University of York, who are using it to learn about the work involved in bringing a historic building back to life.

Earlier this year, York based development company S Harrison, secured planning permission to invest £11.5m redeveloping the Grade II listed former working men’s club and The Tam O’ Shanter public house, which occupy a prominent position on Lawrence Street.

The main building has stood empty for almost a decade and work will start this April transforming it into a 115 bedroom student residence, complete with communal work space and leisure facilities. In advance of work starting, archaeology students have visited the site and met representatives from S Harrison, CSP Architects, which is designing the scheme, as well as the conservation architect from City of York Council.

Chris Hale from S Harrison, explains: “This is a complex project that will safeguard the future of a derelict listed building which is also a very important part of the city’s social history, as the family home of Samuel Tuke, the founder of modern mental healthcare reforms. It offers a wonderful insight into the practicalities, considerations and challenges involved in bringing such a building back into use. As a longstanding development company, we’re always keen to share our knowledge and expertise with the future talent of the industry and it’s really rewarding to see this development benefitting students now, 18 months before it will be ready for their peers to move into.”

Claire Price is a lecturer on planning and conservation at the University of York and also works as a listed buildings caseworker with the Council for British Archaeology. She says: “All the students got a lot out of visiting this development; it was a good opportunity to see the theory, as they learn in lectures, put into practice on a live site and hear from a developer directly. It also highlighted many key considerations associated with such a project including listed building consent applications, condition surveys and historic building assessments, so it was very worthwhile.”

The development is due to complete in time for the 2017 student intake and will offer a range of one, two, three and five bedroom apartments complete with their own kitchen, bathroom and living areas. In addition, there will be communal work space and leisure facilities including a gym, cinema, common room and study areas.

S Harrison has a wealth of experience delivering student accommodation schemes after successfully completing three other developments in York in recent years, consisting of 762 beds. The developer is also currently working on a 240 bed student development in Edinburgh and a 63 bed scheme in Newcastle that are both due to complete later this year.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Steven Wright .