Fortis Vision has progressed construction work on a new student accommodation scheme in Northampton.

When complete, Orient House will provide 41 beds for students of Northampton University. Works on the project include the refurbishment of of an existing building to provide six one-bedroom apartments, alongside the construction of an 11,500 sq. ft. new build comprising three floors of six cluster flats with a total of 35 individual en-suite bedrooms.

To incorporate an additional seven bedrooms, alterations were made to the initial foundation design to include over 60 piles with a steel reinforced ground beam. To overcome the challenges of the small island site, additional planning and unconventional reordering of works was necessary to operate in the location, which was limited on space for site access, material deliveries, storage and plant and crane usage.

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The scheme is led by Abington Park Investments, with Fortis Vision leading construction on the project. Work began on the site in December 2022 and the scheme is set to complete in September 2023 in time for the 23/24 academic year.

Commenting on the project, Lee Stow-Smith, project manager of Orient House at Fortis Vision, said: "We are pleased to be progressing with works for Orient House in Northampton, providing prime student residential accommodation for the university's new September intake.

"Our first foray into the new build main contractor marketplace, we hope this marks the beginning of building some great relationships with stakeholders for future new build projects."