Contractor RG Group will build both of the student accommodation projects with Bristol set to proceed before the London tower.

The Meridian Place development in Stratford will rise to 41 storeys and is expected to gain full planning in the coming months. The project is now timetabled to complete in 2028.

Tom Brewerton, group development director at Unite Students, said: “We are excited to get started with construction in the swiftest possible timescale.”

Including this £70m project, Unite Students’ total planned investment into Stratford is £400m.

This includes the delivery of 716 new beds and academic space for the London Academy of Excellence at its Hawthorne House property, which is replacing former office block Jubilee House on Farthingale Walk.

Construction of a new entrance and exit to Stratford Underground Station is also part of the Meridian Place plan

Meanwhile in Bristol’s Temple Quarter, following full planning consent for the Freestone Island development, Unite Living will now acquire the land in the coming weeks, which supports delivery of the £73m scheme in time for the 2026/27 academic year.

Unite Students is working in partnership with the University of Bristol through a nomination agreement on the property, which will guarantee rooms for the university’s students.

Unite Students’ development, which has received full planning approval, will be close to its 600-bed Marsh Mills site, on Feeder Road, and the University of Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, where up to 4,600 students will be based on completion.

This morning Unite also revealed its joint venture with Newcastle University, had submitted a planning application to demolish the existing buildings to make way for a 2,000-bed scheme.