Student living, city regeneration and science growth drive pipeline
27th April to 1st May 2026
Science campus build for AstraZeneca in Cambridge
This week’s stories reflect a market still moving forward on multiple fronts, with student accommodation, urban regeneration and campus-led science development all playing a central role in shaping the pipeline.
Student housing continues to show strong delivery momentum. New schemes in Bath and Manchester underline sustained demand for purpose-built accommodation in core university cities, with developers and contractors progressing projects that combine scale with increasingly high sustainability standards. At the same time, the completion of major schemes and continued investment signals confidence in the sector’s long-term fundamentals.
Alongside this, regeneration remains a dominant theme. In Hull, plans for the East Bank Urban Village highlight how large brownfield sites are being repositioned into mixed-use neighbourhoods, combining housing with public realm, leisure and infrastructure. Similarly, in Birmingham, the approval of the final residential phase at Arena Central marks the closing stages of a long-running city centre transformation, bringing forward more than 500 Build-to-Rent homes.
Elsewhere, large institutional occupiers in the science and technology sectors continue to expand their presence through campus development. Approval of a new office and conference building for AstraZeneca in Cambridge points to ongoing investment in research and employment hubs, with schemes designed to support both workspace and collaboration at scale.
Across these stories, a consistent pattern is emerging: development is increasingly focused on integrated places rather than standalone buildings. Whether through student accommodation clusters, mixed-use regeneration or corporate campuses, projects are being designed to deliver a broader offer, combining living, working and social spaces within cohesive environments.
One to Watch: Hull’s East Bank Urban Village – a long-term regeneration project with the potential to reshape a major section of the city’s waterfront.
Risk Radar: Delivery viability – while schemes continue to come forward, long-term build-out will depend on funding, planning certainty and sustained demand across residential and commercial uses.
