The sustainable student village aims to be the first BREEAM 'Outstanding' student accommodation in the UK, and will be called 'The Green'.
The name has been chosen because the student village, costing over £40 million, will set a new benchmark for sustainable living and has been built to the very highest environmental standards. It is expected to receive environmental standard BREEAM's highest rating following completion when students are living in the village and using the environmentally-friendly features.
The accommodation will open in September 2011, providing a unique living experience for over 1,000 students. It will incorporate a wide range of features to allow resident students to live in a sustainable way.
The University is working with developers Listerhills SSV Limited – a joint venture by Welbeck Land Limited and the Hayaat Group. The development is being constructed by GB Building Solutions in a joint venture with Balfour Beatty Engineering Services.
The University has been flagged as a sector leader in embedding sustainability across all areas of education. It is rated in the top ten Green League 2009 for universities and has recently been named as the first ever European university to win an International Sustainable Campus Award. It's Ecoversity initiative is widely recognised as trail-blazer for addressing environmental impact.
The Green has been designed to create a step change in the way students in University accommodation interact with each other. Clever design features such as gardens and patio areas, built-in barbeques and central places to meet and relax are to be used to create a truly cohesive community.
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The development is made up of 34 town houses and 101 apartments, positioned around a central water feature – a biodiversity pond which reuses rain water. Other key environmental features include extensive recycling facilities, energy monitor screens, low energy fittings to minimise electricity consumption, washbasins and showers which are fitted with low rate fittings and dual flush toilets. The build of the development has also been done in a sustainable way, including using timber frames from sustainable sources.
Set in the heart of the University's City Campus the accommodation will have all the advantages of being a stone’s throw away from lecture theatres and teaching rooms, the £7.5 million redeveloped Student Central building housing the bar and entertainment facilities, and is also just a five minute walk to the city centre.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford, Professor Mark Cleary, said: "The development will boost our existing £82 million programme of work to revitalise and develop the campus to create inspirational learning, living and social spaces.
"As one the most environmentally-friendly universities in the UK, The Green will help us to continue to be at the forefront of environmental education and practice, as well as providing our students with fantastic accommodation."
Each townhouse will have 12 bedrooms and six bathrooms and have a real family-living feel about them including separate kitchen, dining room and living room, with direct access to a green space to the rear of each unit.
All the apartments all have ensuite bathrooms and are in clusters of six bedrooms which will share both a kitchen and separate dining room. Visit www.bradford.ac.uk/the-green to find out more.
Mohammed Ishtiaq, Managing Director of Mi7 Developments, the project managers acting on behalf of the Hayaat Group and Welbeck Land, said: "We are pleased that our five year journey to date in Bradford, with efforts from the stakeholders, our partners and design team, has enabled commencement of the first of six phases of the Listerhills development, in which The Green plays a key part.
"The clever design features of the village combine to make up what will become the first student residential development to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating. We are excited to see that the plans and visions on paper are now becoming visible and with work starting soon on further phases, there will be a transformation of this area which will certainly have a positive impact on the local economy."
The Green is the landmark development within the wider £150 million Listerhills development. Alongside the student accommodation, planning permission has also been obtained to deliver managed workspace, academic and healthcare facilities and extensive public realm.
The scheme is part of the city's impressive £750 million Learning Quarter which will provide a centre of excellence for the region through design, education and innovation and is being delivered by Mi7 Developments, the project management company for the Hayaat Group and in partnership with Welbeck Land Ltd.
The wider Listerhills scheme being developed by Mi7 Developments, with significant support from Middle Eastern investors, has the potential to create over 700 jobs.
