Unite Students completes extension and refurb of Rushford Court, Durham

• Unite Students has extended and improved its Rushford Court property, in partnership with Durham University. 

• The work, which includes a new common room and study spaces, is part of a 40-year agreement and further strengthens the company and university’s relationship. 

• In supporting the granting of planning permission, county council members said the project would free up privately rented homes for families. 

Unite Students, the UK’s largest provider of student accommodation, has completed an upgrade to its property in Durham. 

The company improved and extended its 358-bed Rushford Court building, in partnership with Durham University, as part of a 40-year agreement. 

The property is now the temporary home of the University’s College of St. Hild and St. Bede while the university looks at options to redevelop their historic home. In the longer term, the university is proposing to establish an 18th college at Rushford Court. 

A new two-storey hub has been constructed next to the existing property and consists of a common room with a cafe-bar, social space, reception, and study space. 

Work to the existing building includes new college staff offices, welfare and study spaces, as well as the reinstatement of the historic entrance. The former reception building has been transformed into a new gym and yoga suite. 

In unanimously approving the plans in 2023, members of Durham County Council’s planning committee said biodiversity and carbon reduction were both above and beyond the required levels, and the proposal reduced the pressure on local residents, and helped to free up privately rented homes in the community for families.  

New solar panels have been added to two of the accommodation blocks to improve the energy efficiency of the building. 

Tom Brewerton, Unite Students Group Development Director, said: 

“We’re delighted to deliver new facilities to enable Rushford Court to become Durham University’s newest college.  

“This is an exciting milestone and allows us to strengthen our long-term partnership with the university while also helping to free up privately rented homes in the city for families. I look forward to students and college staff enjoying the use of the building for many years to come.” 

Jeremy Cook, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Colleges and Student Experience) at Durham University, said: 

“The opening of the new building at Rushford Court enables the university to provide a home to our much-loved Hild Bede College, while we look at options to redevelop their historic home. 

“We are pleased to continue our fantastic working relationship with Unite Students, with this new facility providing a flexible and versatile space to enable student led communities to grow and thrive, creating a college community environment from which both our current and future students will benefit.” 

ENDS 

About Unite Students 

Unite Students is the UK’s largest owner, manager, and developer of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) serving the country’s world-leading higher education sector. We provide homes to 68,000 students across 153 properties in 23 leading university towns and cities. We currently partner with over 60 universities across the UK. 

Our people are driven by a common purpose: to provide a ‘Home for Success’ for the students who live with us. Unite Students’ accommodation is safe and secure, high quality, and affordable. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security and high-speed Wi-Fi.  

We are committed to raising standards in the student accommodation sector for our customers, investors, and employees. Our Sustainability Strategy includes a commitment to become net zero carbon across our operations and developments by 2030. It includes our Sustainable Construction Framework, which outlines our approach for reducing embodied carbon. 

Founded in 1991 in Bristol, the Unite Group is an award-winning Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit Unite Group’s corporate website www.unitegroup.com or the Unite Students’ site www.unitestudents.com. 

About Durham University 

Durham University is a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research based in historic Durham City in the UK. 

We are a collegiate university committed to inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham and in the world. 

We conduct transformative research that improves lives globally and we are ranked as a world top 100 university with an international reputation in research and education (QS World University Rankings 2025). 

We are a member of the Russell Group of leading research-intensive UK universities and we are consistently ranked as a top 10 university in national league tables (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, Guardian University Guide and The Complete University Guide). For more information about Durham University visit: www.durham.ac.uk/about/