A former Durham bingo hall is set to be demolished to make way for a student accommodation scheme following a £1.85m property deal.
Derby-based PMI Developments and Peveril Securities have snapped up the old Majestic Bingo & Social Club, setting in motion a two-year project to create high quality housing for more than 100 students. The 0.61 acre site, on Sherburn Road on the outskirts of Durham City – within walking distance of the city centre and Durham University – has detailed planning permission in place to demolish the building and transform the site into student accommodation with 128 en-suite beds and 15 parking spaces.
Demolition work will take place in the coming months, with PMI/Peveril looking to start construction work early next year, ahead of a planned opening just before the start of the 2025 academic year.
Read more: Northumberland's Dissington Estate back on market in hands of receivers
Nigel Jones, director and owner of PMI Developments, said: “With the well-publicised shortage of student beds in and around Durham, we are delighted with the purchase of this site, to help provide quality accommodation for this world class university. We purchased the site within a seven week period and look forward to commencing development.”
Property specialist, Bradley Hall was tasked with marketing the development, saying it believes PMI “has secured a unique opportunity to capitalise on the ever-growing demand for student accommodation in the city”.
Helen Wall, director – Sunderland at Bradley Hall, said: “We had a number of developers enquire about the project as soon as it hit the market, so it’s no surprise that it was snapped up and the sale was completed within just seven weeks. In recent years, much has been made about the shortage of high-quality, accessible student accommodation in and around the City of Durham so it is fantastic to see a respected developer like PMI helping to alleviate the shortage.”
Durham University has unveiled its ambition to increase its number of students to 21,500 by 2027, as well as having 35% of its student body comprising of international students. Coupled with the lack of housing stock for students, Bradley Hall believes the increased demand for student accommodation will lead to a flurry of developments springing up in and around the city centre.
Peter Bartley, group director at Bradley Hall, added: “As the university continues to grow its ranks, it is only going to lead to increased strain on what is an already over-stretched student housing market, making it inevitable that more developments will start springing up over the next few years. However, as Durham is a World Heritage Site, it can be incredibly difficult to secure planning for developments in the city centre that are of the scale required to house such large numbers of students, which is why opportunities like this are so few and far between and offer such a unique proposition to investors.”