A £12m scheme to convert the derelict former Bank of England site in Southampton's High Street into more than 100 student flats is nearing completion.

Micheldever-based Stelling Properties says all 121 studio apartments, which were manufactured, fitted out and furnished offsite in Winchester, have now been craned in.

31 High Street is a landmark project in a Conservation Area which is bringing a fire damaged building back to life after it remained derelict for more than a decade.

(Image: Unilife)

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The Portland stone façade of the building has been painstakingly restored and other parts of the original building have been retained including the historic bank vault, which held one of the country's largest gold depositories in World War II, storing up to 24,000 gold bars.

The five-storey development, which aims to regenerate the site and help meet a need for student accommodation, is due for completion later this year.

Operated by Unilife, it will include 121 high specification self-contained studio apartments.

(Image: Stelling Properties)

All the studios have been craned in over six weeks and arrived on site completely finished, with kitchenettes, shower rooms, fitted furniture, flooring, doors, windows and even flat screen TVs already in place.

Dan Smith, chief operating officer of Stelling Properties, said: “This is a high-profile development that forms part of the regeneration of the centre of Southampton and follows an earlier project we have already delivered on the High Street, and we are about to start a third.

“This has been a hugely challenging site to develop and bring back to life. As well as being a locally listed building in a Conservation Area that had to be redeveloped sympathetically, we had to conduct extensive archaeological investigations which added to the complexity. We were able to preserve the artefacts we found, which included the skeleton of a working horse.

“Our offsite manufacturing capabilities allowed us to develop this site, which is completely enclosed on three sides. That would have been extremely difficult to achieve using in-situ construction.

“Speed of construction was absolutely critical to reduce disruption in the city centre. The tremendous progress so far is a real credit to our design, offsite manufacturing and site teams.”

The final phase of construction will include fitting out social and amenity spaces and landscaping of the large roof terrace.

(Image: Stelling Properties)