Purbeck House

Purbeck House is owned and operated by BU's private accommodation partner, Unite Students (uS). uS will be your landlord and you will pay your rent to them and not BU. Any queries or issues you might have during your time will be dealt with by uS's dedicated on-site team.

uS has signed Cranborne House up to The National Code, which has been developed to encourage the highest possible standards of student accommodation provided by large private operators. Find out more about the code and how it benefits you.

ResLifeBU is an exclusive programme, only available in BU accommodation, designed to help you enjoy your time in student accommodation to the fullest. 

Our ResLifeBU Team supports you across three core areas:

• Social – providing inclusive activities and events to help you meet your fellow students and build a great community
• Wellbeing – supporting your welfare, health, safety and overall comfort and security
• Skills – everything you need for your new independent life, from how to keep your flat clean, to cooking an affordable and healthy meal and tips on managing your budget

Each accommodation has a friendly Resident Assistant (RA) who lives on site and is a current BU student. Having experienced it themselves, your RA had an understanding of what it’s like to move to a new home when you start at uni. There is also a Welfare Coordinator who is a current member of BU staff and is available for any wellbeing issues you might have whilst in residence. Supporting these roles we have the three ResLifeBU Coordinators, and the three ResLifeBU Officers all dedicated to helping you have the best time in our accommodation. 

£1.50 of your weekly rent goes towards the funding of the programme – but if you make the most of it, you’ll find it’s worth so much more than that.

Find out more about ResLifeBU

There are two types of the bedroom in Purbeck House:

Ensuite (undergraduate) – all ensuites are single occupancy and come with a single bed, study desk, desk chair, storage and your very own ensuite bathroom and shower. All ensuite rooms are within a shared cluster flat of between 5–6 other rooms. All flats have fully fitted shared kitchens and dining spaces to eat, relax and socialise. 

Ensuite rooms vary in size, shape and layout but are approx 12 to 13 sqm.

Studios (reserved for postgraduates) – all studio flats come with a single bed, study desk, desk chair, storage, your very own ensuite bathroom and shower as well as a fitted kitchen area with everything you require for self-catering.

Studio flats vary in size, shape and layout but are approx 23 to 35 sqm.

Advertised prices are based on weekly rent inclusive of an annual bus pass and your ResLifeBU programme. 

The block is just a few minutes’ walk from the train station and a large Asda supermarket, with a smaller Co-op just over the road.

It’s within easy reach of all of the buildings on our Lansdowne Campus, while the beach and town centre are also just a short walk away.

In addition to a range of restaurants and bars, around the corner you’ll find the Students’ Union-run club and live music venue, The Old Fire Station. 

Purbeck House’s proximity to the main bus and train station makes it easy to get in and out of Bournemouth.

Meanwhile, the university bus service (U1) picks up and drops off from just around the corner, with journeys into our Talbot Campus taking between 10 and 15 minutes. Your bus pass is included in your rent so you can use this service as much as you need throughout the year, although you can opt out of this if you choose.

The bus pass also includes unlimited travel on morebus zone A services, spanning the wider Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch area.

There’s also a secure and covered bike shelter.

Purbeck’s cluster flats have five to seven bedrooms, each of which has an open-plan kitchen and living area. Within this space are comfy sofas, a breakfast bar with stools, lots of cupboard space and all the appliances (cooker, fridge, freezer and microwave) you’d expect in a kitchen.

There’s a spacious common room on the ground floor with a pool table, a table football table, vending machines, comfy sofas, a TV, tables and a separate study room. There’s also an outside courtyard between the two blocks that make up Purbeck House, which features a ping-pong table, several benches and a barbecue area, as well as the bike shelter. There’s a card-operated laundry room opposite the common room, which is open 24 hours a day.

Your weekly rent includes contents insurance. Find out more about the level of cover. 

Your bedroom and common room has high-speed wifi for work and play.

All of your bills are included in your weekly rent so you have nothing further to pay.

As well as having CCTV in the building and secure access, there is also a Purbeck House team member onsite 24 hours a day to provide any help you might need.

The onsite team includes a maintenance operative who will be able to respond and resolve any faults for you in a timely manner.

There is also a ResLifeBU Team who are on hand if you have any wellbeing concerns and they also organise regular social events (see also ResLifeBU above

You can find details of booking dates and our accommodation guarantee on our How to book accommodation page.

When you’re ready to book a room, you can do so via our Accommodation Portal. 

Although you will select your room via our Accommodation Portal your contract and rent payments will be with our accommodation partner, Unite Students (uS), who own and operate Purbeck House. For more details of the terms of booking and cancellation go to our Contract flexibility and cancellation page.

For updates on Covid-19 please read our Coronovirus News page