Ward Group Investments has announced the 100% ownership of the Three Tuns purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) site in the heart of Durham City – in the Durham City Centre Conservation Area. The buyout marks the first phase of Ward Group’s long-term vision to revitalise and improve the PBSA asset.
The history of the Three Tuns Hotel can be traced back to the 16th Century, but more recently it served as student accommodation for Durham University postgraduates, before it was redveloped.
Designed by SPACE, the scheme includes 200 high-quality bedrooms in a mix of studios and cluster flats, alongside three spacious courtyards and several amenity spaces for residents to enjoy. The PBSA scheme blends modern student blocks with the character of the original street-front hotel conversion.
The blocks are linear in form – following the lines of the medieval burgage plots that once occupied the site – and have differing roof heights. This roofscape respects the massing of the existing buildings across the site and has been refined to allow key views of the World Heritage Site to be maintained. New landscaped courtyards were formed between the new blocks and existing buildings.
“We are making significant investments to uplift and enhance the standard of accommodation across the site – ensuring it meets the evolving needs of Durham’s student community.
Charlie Ward, Director of Operations and Developments, Ward Group
This strategic acquisition forms part of Ward Group’s rapidly growing PBSA portfolio, as they continue to invest in high-quality, well-located student accommodation across the region.
