First look inside Bristol University’s biggest new halls of residence

The largest new student accommodation to be built for Bristol University is set to welcome its first students later this summer.

Work to complete Metal Works – a purpose-built student accommodation complex in Bedminster – is underway, with the first students set to move in on 14 September.

The huge complex, which will house up to 819 students when full, has been built on Dalby Avenue by specialist student accommodation developer Watkin Jones and will be managed by Fresh Student Accommodation, a firm that already manages a student block in New Bridewell Street in the city centre. With over 800 students, it will be the largest student accommodation complex in the University of Bristol portfolio.

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The first details of how much accommodation at the Metal Works will cost have also been revealed, after Bedminster PBSA was included on the University of Bristol’s official accommodation lists.

This website reveals that a small, single en-suite room in a shared self-catering flat will cost a student £8,728, with larger rooms costing more. Accommodation is provided in shared apartments with between five and 12 students, and each room has a private bathroom with wifi. There are some single-sex apartments available and some apartments with a no-alcohol policy.

This £8,728 is for a fixed-term contract until 5 July 2025. University of Bristol students are eligible for maintenance loans – which will be just over £10,000 a year from September, for students in households where their parents earn less than around £50,000 a year combined.

The five-building complex in two blocks will be the first of five Bedminster Green ‘lots’ to be completed. The Dalby Avenue site was on the site of the old NCP car park, opposite Iceland and St Catherine’s Place shopping centre, and is close to Bedminster railway station and the main A38 bus route into the city centre.

Metal Works is named after the huge Capper Pass & Sons Bedminster Smelting Works, which was reputed to be one of Bristol’s most secretive companies for more than 100 years before it closed less than 60 years ago .

The new complex includes a gym, social lounge, cinema room, media room, collaborative study space, quiet study space. The University of Bristol has signed an agreement with Watkin Jones and Fresh to include Metal Works as one of its official halls of residence for students, so that the University of Bristol will own the students living there.

It is the first formal student accommodation to open south of the river and is expected to spark major change for the surrounding area, including East Street and nearby Bedminster Parade.

A University of Bristol spokesman described the area as having a “vibrant atmosphere”. “This vibrant neighborhood is home to a diverse community and offers a unique blend of urban living and green spaces,” the university said.

“Bedminster is renowned for its lively atmosphere, with a range of independent shops, cafes and restaurants lining lively East Street and North Street. Students can immerse themselves in local culture, explore craft markets and cultural events while enjoying the vibrant street art that adorns the area’s walls.

“Adjacent to Bedminster, Victoria Park offers a serene retreat from city life, offering lush greenery, scenic walking paths and leisure facilities,” they added.

A second major student block, also proposed by Watkin Jones, is to be built 100m further south on the A38 at Malago Road along the railway line on the former Pring & St Hill industrial site. That development would house just over half of Metal Works’ students, with accommodation for 432.

Last October, ahead of the opening of the first large PBSA in Bedminster, university bosses came to Windmill Hill City Farm to meet local residents. There, residents were told that students moving into Bedminster student accommodation would mostly be those studying at the new Temple Quarter campus.

But with Temple Quarter not expected to open for another two or three years – Metal Works is being pitched to new students this year as being 1.7 miles from campus, which is a 37-minute walk or a 10 minute cycle. There are no direct bus services from Bedminster to the University’s main campus in Clifton, the UWE campus at Bower Ashton or Temple Meads, although there is an hourly train to Temple Meads and Clifton Down from Bedminster station.