Hild Bede redevelopment

March 2025 update

Our preferred bidder, UPP, has recently made an application to Durham County Council to request an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping opinion in relation to the redevelopment of Hild Bede and the 19th college and student hub.

The application sets out the current options being explored as part of the development project; however, it is possible that not all of these options will form part of the final planning permission application which is scheduled for submission later in 2025 and will be subject to a full public consultation.

Refurbishment and redevelopment ​​​​​​​

Our project team, which includes representation from The College of St Hild and St Bede, has been actively involved in a market engagement exercise to progress with the refurbishment and redevelopment of Hild Bede and the Leazes Road site. This work is currently scheduled to start in 2025.  

We are pleased to announce that after a competitive process, we have selected UPP to work with the project team as our preferred bidder. Working in partnership with UPP, we will develop and deliver a refurbished new home for Hild Bede on its historic Riverside location, alongside proposals for a new college neighbour for the College on the site. In addition, we are seeking to develop postgraduate accommodation as annexes to the existing Hill Colleges at Elvet Hill. 

UPP is a multi-discipline, full-service Design, Build, Fund and Operate (DBFO) company that is dedicated to the Higher Education sector. With over 25 years' operating in the sector and having invested over £3.5bn, they have a long-established reputation for delivering campuses at scale, including an interest in developing college estates. They currently support 35,000 students on their journey through higher education with a commitment to partnership working.  

UPP was chosen as result of their comprehensive bid including some very important factors: 

• The bid demonstrated a strong commitment to adopt a partnership approach in the renovation of Hild Bede  
• A sympathetic design approach which respects the community, heritage and parkland aspects of the Leazes Road site 
• A commitment to delivering on the University’s Sustainability and Net Zero aspirations  
• The UPP team includes a local construction partner 

Plans for the sites are not yet confirmed and over the coming months we will continue to actively engage with key stakeholders to ensure we work together to develop an exciting proposal for Hild Bede that respects its history and readies it for the future.  

We will keep you updated as this work progresses. 

Find out more about UPP.