18 January 2024 – Tri7, the specialist UK value-add real estate investment and asset management firm, and its joint venture partner Fusion Group – one of the largest privately owned student accommodation developers and operators in the UK – have secured planning permission from Charnwood Borough Council for a purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Loughborough.
The JV’s proposal will deliver best-in-class student-led housing at Limehurst Avenue on the derelict brownfield site adjacent to the Grand Union Canal Basin in Loughborough. Approved plans will develop a nine storey building, containing 541 student bedrooms, delivered in time for the 2027/28 academic year. A 20-minute walk from Loughborough train station and Loughborough University’s campus, the scheme is also a short distance from the town centre.
The planning application was submitted following extensive consultation with local residents and Loughborough University. Designed by renowned architects Costorphine & Wright, the development will feature outdoor amenity space that encourages wellbeing, a spa-led recovery facility onsite to support a fitness lifestyle, and study spaces as well as a library. The scheme will also target BREEAM Excellent accreditation and deliver a 143% biodiversity net gain.
Samuel Castle, partner at Tri7, said: “Our vision for this new scheme, crafted through comprehensive community engagement, will establish beautiful new homes for students in Loughborough, a town with one of the UK’s most prestigious universities. Particularly given the attractiveness of student housing, especially in town and city centres that are also home to Russell Group universities, this high-quality development is an exciting opportunity, and we look forward to ongoing collaboration with Fusion Group, the council, and the community to deliver it.”
Ben Henry, acquisitions director at Fusion Group, said: “Serving the student population of Loughborough, our plans will provide much needed, wellbeing-focused housing that is designed for positive living. With an onsite spa-led recovery facility and sector-leading study spaces, this best-in-class scheme is the product of both what people in the community told us they wanted and of Fusion and Tri7’s expertise in the student housing sector. Starting the year as we mean to go on, we can’t wait to put spades in the ground and to welcome our first residents in time for the 2027/28 academic year.”
