North East & Yorkshire

Creating Turner Court

A development to provided student accommodation to Shieldfield, Newcastle-upon-Tyne continues to make good progress.

The Turner Court project comprises the creation of a 275-bed student accommodation block to provide living quarters for students attending the Newcastle-based universities building. The majority of the single bed units benefit from en-suite facilities and 20Mb fibre optic broadband, whilst each apartment block has a kitchen with dining area.

In addition to the student accommodation, Turner Court also includes two ground floor retail units. The first unit is currently under a lease agreement for Tesco Express, whilst the second slightly smaller unit, is in the process of being marketed.

Metnor (Portland Road) Ltd is the developer on the project, whilst in-house construction company, Metnor Construction Ltd is the main Design and Build contractor on Turner Court. Norstead is the mechanical and electrical contractor on the project, whilst ID Partnership Northern is the contractor’s architect.

Work began on Turner Court in February 2012 and is currently on programme to reach completion in August 2013.

Metnor Property Group Director, Gerald Hall, commented:

“We are currently in the testing and commissioning phase of the project, so we are well on track for reaching our completion date.

“Once work is complete on Turner Court we will see an increase in footfall in the area. The site is perfectly situated close to the universities and the inclusion of the retail units will only enhance the development’s offering, providing a much needed boost to the area.”

Gerald added:

“This scheme is part of a major regeneration of the Shieldfield area, and is effectively one of nine buildings that we have planning permission for within the locality. The concept is to create a student village; however with the challenging times that we all find ourselves in, funding restricts us to completing a building at a time. Once we have developed Turner Court we will then be looking at the next phase, but as the market is forever changing we will assess what we plan to do with the remaining sites as we go along, so that we can continue to meet market expectations.”

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Roma Publications