The sky's the limit

Our iconic North Towers always have been and still are, the heart and soul of our Colchester Campus and a local landmark.

With everything on your doorstep, you can roll out of bed and still be on time for lectures.

Reduced availability

Due to essential maintenance and refurbishment works in the North Towers, the number of available single rooms and self-contained apartments will be greatly reduced for the 2023-24 and 24-25 academic years.

Specific works on Tawney Tower, will take place between October and December 2024. We endeavour to mitigate any disturbance to you but please due use the alternative study spaces on campus, should you find it difficult to study in your room.

 

The details
679
Colchester Campus
Shared, Private
Undergraduate students, Postgraduate students
Room and Accommodation Type Price 
Standard single £109.90
Self-contained apartments from £198.66
  
Don't forget, you can apply for accommodation with us as soon as we're your first choice. 
Apply for accommodation now

Please note that contract lengths vary in line with course dates. Postgraduate courses are normally 50 weeks and undergraduate courses are normally 39 weeks, however, some courses start earlier or finish later than others.

About The Towers

A real sociable atmosphere, the North Towers offers a great sense of community where you can hang out with friends and feel the buzz of people sharing a flat together. Just a two-minute walk to the centre of campus. The North Towers are located near the Essex Business School, as well as  the Tony Rich, Causeway and North Teaching Centres.

Each tower is made up of flats to accommodate 14 to 16 students. The number and size of the facilities, such as rooms, showers and toilets, within each flat, can vary:

  • Central shared kitchen/dining area
  • Breakfast included (single occupancy rooms only)
  • Bedrooms located on either side
  • There are 3 toilets and 2 showers in each flat to share in William Morris and Tawney Towers.
  • There are 4 showers and 4 toilets in each flat to share in Keynes and Rayleigh Towers
  • Two lifts in each building and an emergency staircase
  • North Towers are available for undergraduates
  • There are 26 self-contained apartments and 653 single, shared facility rooms

There are some smaller flats at either the top or the bottom of each tower, each accommodating between three and seven students and there are some self-contained apartments, which are usually available for our postgraduate students.

Bed and Breakfast

New for 2023-24! Students who will be living in North Towers single occupancy rooms from the 2023-24 academic year, will receive a free breakfast every weekday (Monday to Friday).

This will be a 5 item cooked breakfast (no drink) served between 7.30am and 11am in Canteen on Square 3. There is no takeaway option, so you have to eat it on site.

The items include:

  • Sausage or veggie sausage
  • Mini omelette or fried egg
  • Grilled tomato
  • Hash brown
  • Toast

Essex Food will provide you with a pre-loaded meal card (when you collect your accommodation keys). The cost of the breakfast will be cleared from the card at 11am each day, if it has not been used. If you lose the card, Essex Food will provide a replacement, although there will be a £10 replacement fee.

This offer is not available to students living in self-contained apartments.

 

Location

North Towers is located just a 2 minute walk from the centre of campus where you will find the Albert Sloman Library, SU bar, SU Shop, eatery outlets and plenty more. It is also only a 6 minutes walk to our gym and other sport facilities located on the edge of the University campus.

Virtual tour

North Towers
student looking at computer
Payments and charges

Find the full list of rent charges for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 here

Find out more

Girls talking at North Towers at University of Essex's Colchester Campus
Postal address
Name of Tower followed by Flat / Room (e.g. Bertrand Russell Tower 9/4) University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park 
Colchester, CO4 3SQ
student talking to support staff
Contact us

For enquiries about accommodation or about an application you're making, contact us at the Student Services Hub. Quote your full name and PRID or PG number on all correspondence.