Red carpet rolled out for royal visit » Housing » 24dash.com

Scotland's newest university rolled out the red carpet for a visit by The Queen.

Her Majesty officially opened the stunning new Craighall campus at Queen Margaret University (QMU), East Lothian, where she unveiled a commemorative plaque before touring the new building, meeting staff and students.

Thanks to a major investment by Sanctuary Group, one of the UKs leading housing associations, students have 800 state-of-the-art en-suite bedrooms in halls of residence on the 35-acre site.

Sanctuary Management Services (SMS), a subsidiary of Sanctuary Group, is responsible for the day to day management of the accommodation for a 35-year term.

Hilary Gardner, Sanctuarys Commercial Director, was a guest at Fridays event.

She said: The Queen was very positive about the campus and it was a very successful event.

It is the first new university campus in Scotland for a generation so it is a landmark scheme and a project Sanctuary Management Services is very proud to be involved in.

The Queen arrived at University Square at 11am, where she was greeted by Professor Anthony Cohen, Principal at QMU and a welcoming party.

She enjoyed a tour of the campus before signing the visitors book.

Following her departure guests enjoyed a champagne reception and lunch.

Around 4,500 students relocated from Queen Margarets campuses at Corstorphine and Leith to the new site.

The campus has achieved an excellent rating in the Building Research Establishment environmental assessment (BREAM), the property sectors top method of measuring a buildings environmental performance; the highest ever score for a UK university.