WORK has started on two £80million student housing blocks in the centre of Bournemouth.

Global Student Accommodation has commenced work on the blocks in Lansdowne Road and Holdenhurst Road, which will see more than 950 student rooms built.

Both buildings are set to be completed in time for the 2019/20 academic year.

Bailey Point in Lansdowne Road and Belaton House in Holdenhurst Road will be run by the Student Housing Company and will offer games rooms, communal study and cinema rooms as well as bike storage and laundry.

Bailey Point will see accommodation for 550 students in the 14 storey student residence as well as a new home for the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences in St Paul's Place.

The £47m student housing development will also see highway improvements.

Work on the new faculty building has already started, with the site intended to act as a landmark for the gateway into the university’s Lansdowne site and the town centre.

It will feature state-of-the-art teaching space, clinical skills labs and facilities to develop students for a career in healthcare, as well as a plaza with pedestrian links to other parts of the town and to public transport.

Also, there will be a library, catering facilities and a 'social collaborative learning space'.

The new building in Holdenhurst Road - Belaton House - will be built on the former American Golf site and include 403 bedrooms, in apartments and 'twodios' layout.

James Childs, UK construction director at GSA said: "Having been planning these developments for more than two years, it's extremely exciting to see works start.

"At the peak of construction, we estimate that there will be in excess of 300 people working at Bailey Point and Belaton House, eight staff will be employed to operate each residence once they open in 2019.

"The vast majority of these vacancies will be filled by local workers."

Jim Andrews, chief operating officer at Bournemouth University said: "We were pleased to work with GSA and its predecessors on the planning for the Lansdowne Road development and look forward to seeing these developments open in time for the 2019/20 academic year."