Mortar Developments in joint venture with UCL
Published on 22nd December 2010
Mortar Developments and leading university, UCL, currently ranked 4th in the world, have come together in a £41m joint venture to provide state of the art student accommodation in Islington for UCL.
The development will comprise 350 student beds in both cluster and studio formats together with 4000 sq ft of retail to be occupied by a Sainsbury’s Local. A further 2000 sq ft of retail space remains available, together with 6000 sq ft of office space.
The scheme complies fully with the new London Plan for future development within London as a whole and the London Borough of Islington. Moreover, the quality build will meet London’s promise to reduce carbon emissions by 20% through the use of renewable energy. The scheme will have a BREEAM ‘excellent’ rating and will incorporate a green roof and photo voltaic solar panels.
Situated on Caledonian Road adjacent to the Piccadilly Line tube station, the accommodation is ideally suited to UCL’s students being just 15 minutes from the University’s Bloomsbury Campus.
The Mortar team has worked closely alongside UCL on the project since the original application for planning was submitted by Mortar in 2009. Following recommendation for approval by the planning department, Islington’s planning committee subsequently refused planning in March 2010. Mortar and UCL immediately went forward to appeal the decision and a public planning inquiry concluded in October 2010. The Secretary of State granted planning consent on 24 November 2010.
UCL’s Chief Estates Surveyor, Colin Plank, stated “We believe the facilities that will be created by this new development will significantly benefit the welfare of our student population and contribute to the regeneration of the area”.
The existing site at Caledonian Road currently provides employment for just 10 people, who are to relocate to more suitable space immediately. During the 2 year construction period up to 200 people will be employed on site, with completion of the development creating over 60 permanent employment positions.
The scheme will augment the 3500 student bedrooms that UCL currently manage.
For further information please contact Mortar Developments T: 0115 9473100
E: info@mortardevelopments.co.uk
Student Tower Plans On Caledonian Road
Published on 2 June 2009 by Skyscrapernews.com
High-rise residential redevelopment could finally be starting to spread up London's Caledonian Road if plans by Mortar Developments get approved by Islington Council.
Set on the site of Mallet and Porter House adjacent to Caledonian Road's underground station, the scheme will have the retention of the eastern elevation of 465 Caledonian Road with the rest of the broadly triangular site demolished.
In the place of the existing buildings will be a new part 14, part 8 and part 6 building aimed at providing accommodation for students with 129 apartments translating into 398 bedrooms. Along the ground floor the developer intends to build a mix of 598 square metres of commercial space whilst the scheme also includes 590 square metres of office space with a separate entrance.
Designed by Steven George and Partners, the proposals have been penned to include a modest frontage along Caledonian Road rather than a gateway impact by having them stand six floors tall with the seventh floor set back from the frontage. It's only towards the back of the site around the south west that the building actually rises to its peak.
The architect has employed a surprisingly modern array of materials for the buildings facades with the stretch along Caledonian Road given three different looks creating the appearance of individual buildings with the retained façade of 465 Caledonian Road sited slap-bang in the middle surrounded by glass curtain walling.
On the walls of the tower there are particularly distinct vertical elements accentuating its height with the facades split into strips of glazing, white render and irregular patterns that work their way up sections of the building.
As one would expect from a project so close to an underground station, the development will be entirely car-free although this is bound to raise the ire of supporters of the disabled. Instead one cycling space will be provided for every two students with the rest presumably expected to use the public transport that serves the area well.
Growing numbers of overseas students continue to strengthen London's economy
19 March 2009 
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has today praised London’s universities and higher education colleges for defying the current economic downturn and increasing the number of international students studying in London by nearly 3,000.
According to the latest figures from Study London, the body representing London’s 42 universities and higher education colleges, London remains the most popular destination in the world for international students. In 2007/8, 93,000 overseas students, from over 200 countries, chose the academic excellence that London’ s higher education sector offers. This equals the combined overseas student population of New York and Sydney contributing more than £1.5 billion to the capital’s economy and supporting nearly 45,000 jobs.
The Mayor will be meeting with a of group international students from London’s universities and higher education colleges. They are attending a City Hall reception to mark the significant contribution they make to the capital and the important role the higher education sector plays in the economy, particularly during the downturn.
According to the Times Higher Education ranking of the world’s top 200 universities London has four universities in the top 100, more than any other city in the world, and double the number of Boston. They are University College London, King’s College London, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics
As one of the world’s leading business centres many students come to London to study business related degrees. The capital is also renowned for the quality of its legal studies and the subsequent employment opportunities for graduates, with four of the world’s six largest law firms being based in London. Thousands of others come to study medicine at one of the capital’s five world-class medical