New student accommodation at Newcastle University features 32,000 Penrhyn saltes from Welsh//Slate.

The £13million development uses 500mm x 300mm Penrhyn Heather Blues on the development in a prime location on campus, close to the city centre, in a Conservation Area overlooking Newcastle’s Exhibition Park. Accommodation is on six floors.

The apartment blocks provide students with en-suite bedrooms in self-catered flats varying in size from six to 11 bedrooms. Each flat has a fully-equipped, contemporary kitchen and comfortable common area with Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV, on-site laundrette and bike storage.

Together with the refurbishment of 10 period houses on Kensington Terrace, some 350 en-suite undergraduate bedrooms have been added.

The existing buildings on Park Terrace were demolished to make way for two new buildings, including a mews block to the rear of the existing terraces. The project, under a novated design and build contract, comprises the construction of the building frame using a pre-fabricated structural framing system. The external finish of the buildings is largely traditional masonry and slate, similar to the buildings they replaced.

Park Terrace was the first phase, with Kensington Terrace following a year later.

Welsh Slate sales representative Alex Grant says: “The job was specified as second hand Welsh slates but due to the large amount required it was not possible to source enough material of quite the right quality, so new Welsh//Slate was used – some 2,000m² of it.”

The Welsh//Slates were installed by M&C Roofing for main contractor Graham Construction. They were supplied by Burton Roofing Supplies.