The University of Bath has celebrated the topping out of new student accommodation on its Claverton campus, a traditional ceremony marking the construction of the building reaching its highest point.
The new Polden residence is located on the western edge of the campus alongside Quarry Road, and will consist of 293 ensuite bedrooms for postgraduate students, due to open for the new academic year in the Autumn of 2018.
The University is focused on becoming an international leader in graduate education and extending the scope and scale of its research.
Providing high quality accommodation on campus for its postgraduate students is an important element of the strategy.
Polden lies in front of the existing Polden Court student accommodation and is land that was identified in the University’s Masterplan, the framework for future development of the campus.
Eight students will share a flat with access to a kitchen, dining area and balcony, with a large lounge shared between two flats.
The 37 flats will be split across two buildings and arranged around a landscaped courtyard. Facilities will include a café, communal study spaces, drying rooms and cycle storage.
Guests to the ceremony, including Mayor of Bath Councillor Ian Gilchrist, the Bath architects Stride Treglown and contractors Vinci, were given a tour of the site and enjoyed glorious views across the City of Bath.
Professor Veronica Hope Hailey, Vice-President of Corporate Engagement and Dean of the School of Management, spoke at the ceremony. She said: “We are tremendously proud of this high quality student accommodation which our postgraduate students will be able to enjoy from the next academic year.
“Further development of the University’s campus is fundamental in enabling the sustainable growth of the University and to ensure that the teaching, research and accommodation facilities provided are sector leading.
“Postgraduate students come from all over the UK and the world. There is a very different dynamic to undergraduate students because they have one year to complete their work rather than three, so it is great to have more accommodation on campus for this community of students. They bring energy and dynamism to campus.
“I am always amazed how much they throw themselves into community work in Bath, often within a month of arriving. They feel very loyal and committed to Bath. They love the University and they love the City.”
The Mayor of Bath, Councillor Gilchrist, added: “Polden is lovely looking accommodation. I wouldn’t mind moving in myself! I’m sure that the postgraduates will find it adds to their experience and impression of life in Bath at the University and in the City.”
