MMU and Unite table £400m PBSA plan
Should the city council consent, Cambridge Halls off Cavendish Street will be razed to make way for two PBSA blocks rising to 30 and 24 storeys, creating 2,302 student beds on the two-acre site neighbouring the university.
Earlier this year, Manchester Metropolitan University and Unite inked a £390m joint venture to develop the scheme. Now, a planning application for the project has been lodged with Manchester City Council.
Designed by architect Cartwright Pickard, the £400m scheme would be delivered across two phases to ensure the university can maintain a sufficient supply of beds during the development.
If approved, work will start in 2026 with the smaller 24-storey block, which would accommodate 1,101 bedrooms, split across 1,077 standard cluster rooms and 34 studios, by spring 2029.
Phase two concerns the 1,201-bed 30-storey northern block, which would provide 443 standard cluster rooms, 175 studios, 413 affordable cluster rooms, and 170 cluster rooms specifically for post-graduates.
The Cambridge Halls scheme is expected to be fully operational under Unite Students by the end of 2030.
Cambridge Halls’ two blocks would be split by a central walkway, and each surround a landscaped central courtyard offering views and maximising sunlight. Re-form has undertaken landscape designs.
On each block’s seventh floor, external terraces feature a bodyweight exercise area, table tennis tables, a communal dining space, and a netted multi-use games court for football, basketball, and netball.
Both sites would have a gym and wellness studio, which provides access to the terrace for outdoor yoga.
Cambridge Halls will undergo a much-needed modernisation with the development. Credit: via planning documents
In addition, 13,750 sq ft of commercial and community space to support the site as a student accommodation campus is to be provided across the ground floors.
Pedestrian access from Chatham Street and Cambridge Street would remain unaltered. It is envisioned that the development will be car-free, with no parking provision.
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A planning statement submitted to Manchester City Council by Turley suggests the scheme could generate £9.7m in expenditure per academic year from the 2,302 students, with their guests potentially bringing in another £1.3m to the city.
The statement also suggests the PBSA development would free up some 390 HMOs, opening up housing for nearly 1,000 residents.
The project team includes Cumming Group, Waterman Group, Arup, Ashton Fire, and Atkins Realis.
To view the application, use the planning reference 142888/FO/2025 in Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
