The £71 million development of the Selly Oak Shopping Park in Birmingham has been completed by Interserve Group.

The Harvest Partnership, a joint venture between Landsec and Sainsbury's, contracted Interserve to construct a new Sainsbury's supermarket, the Battery Park 418-bed student accommodation scheme, 13 other shops and parking facilities. Interserve also prepared the site for a petrol station and undertook hard and soft landscaping.

The now fully occupied, nine-storey Battery Park facility for Unite Students, the student accommodation provider, includes a generous array of shared breakout and common space on the ground and first floors, with dedicated areas to socialise, study rooms, a cinema and meeting areas.

The floor to ceiling glazing on every floor creates light and airy interiors, which have been given considerable attention to detail by award-winning Birmingham architects, Glenn Howells.

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The site underwent extensive remediation to stabilize the contaminated ground of the former metal factories, which has remained vacant since 1980. Working with community stakeholders, Interserve also undertook significant ground and structural works to make provision for the reinstatement of the former Dudley Canal route, which hopes to re-establish the historical waterway between the Birmingham and Worcester Canal to Weoley Castle.

Simon Butler, Interserve Construction Divisional Director, said: "Our Birmingham roots mean we are very proud of our long association with the city, where we have built many landmark projects, which showcase the depth of Interserve Construction's capabilities across a wide range of sectors from retail to education and healthcare.

"The completion of the Selly Oak Shopping Park and the Battery Park student accommodation further underscores our expertise in building complex multi-purpose facilities on challenging sites and we are delighted to continue to contribute to Birmingham's future prosperity and quality of life."

The scheme has been shortlisted for a Construction News Social Value Award in recognition of the many good causes that Interserve supported throughout the delivery of the project. This included regular contributions to local food banks, and continuous work placements and apprenticeships with the Heart of Worcestershire College and Birmingham City Council.

(MH/JG)