Work starts on £75m student housing development near Bristol Temple Meads 

  • Here's a look at the development (video from Unite Students)

Hundreds of students will soon be living a stone’s throw from Bristol’s Temple Meads train station, as work starts on building new accommodation.

The new 596-bed development called ‘Marsh Mills’ near Temple Meads is being built as part of the huge Temple Quarter regeneration zone.

At least half of the rooms will be reserved for Bristol University students thanks to a long-term lease agreement.

Unite Students will provide the accommodation, and Summix is the developer.

The tallest of the buildings will be 14-storeys and the rooms are expected to be ready in time for the 2025/26 academic year.

The £75m project is located on a brownfield site opposite the well-known nightclub Motion, on the corner of Albert Road and Feeder Road. 

It's also close to the University of Bristol's new £500m Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, which is currently being built and is expected to welcome 4,600 students and 650 university staff in 2026.

The tallest building in the development is 14 floors high. Credit: Unite Students

As well as hundreds of student rooms, there will also be communal features including study spaces, a roof terrace, a gym and cycle storage.

Plans were approved back in 2022 but it hasn’t been a straightforward process as there were worries nightclub Motion would have to close due to noise constraints that usually come with residential developments.

However, in 2020 developer Summix struck an agreement that granted Motion the legal right to continue to make noise at the existing levels. 

It means future residents moving into the flats will be made aware of any inconvenience they might experience from living close to Motion. 

Tom Brewerton, group development director at Unite Students, said: “Bristol is where it all began for Unite Students and this new property is in a vitally important scheme for students in the city. 

“This development is further evidence of Unite Students’ commitment to delivering new supply of high-quality student accommodation in cities where it is needed most.”