Nuffield’s Oxford Road Corridor hits market with £6.5m price tag

Once the subject of proposals for a 130,000 sq ft hospital, the site is now up being offered up for life sciences development.

Mason Partners is searching for buyers after being instructed by Nuffield Health to return its 5.2-acre freehold plot off Upper Brook Street to market.

Offers are being sought in excess of £6.5m – amounting to £1.25m per acre – for the former Elizabeth Gaskell MMU Campus site, which was acquired by Nuffield in 2015.

Nuffield Health sought planning permission in 2015 to build a hospital and health centre on the land, appointing Kier Construction as the main contractor for the £75m scheme.

The project was then put on hold in November 2017 with Nuffield blaming the delay on rising costs and the poor economic climate.

An Eden Planning report suggests that now the best chance of obtaining planning permission would be by building an employment-focused scheme to maximise the potential of nearby health research and life sciences facilities on the Oxford Road Corridor.

The previous scheme proposed on the site by Nuffield Health would have spanned 130,000 sq ft and was designed by Pozzoni Architecture. Credit: Pozzoni Architecture

Other life sciences schemes nearby include Bruntwood’s Citylabs and proposals from Kadans and Property Alliance Group on Upper Brook Street.

While life sciences development seems logical, other types of development, particularly mixed-use with residential and employment use, would also be considered for approval, according to marketing materials.

The site offers 4.25 acres of developable land and includes two former residential villas.

One has been refurbished for office use, while the other, a grade two-listed building, is dilapidated and in need of restoration.

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Shepards House is a 5,000 sq ft former residential building that has been refurbished and converted to office use. The property could be separated from the current freehold ownership and sold as a separate entity, Mason Partners said.

Brook House represents more of a challenge, with the 15,000 sq ft building not readily available for inspection.

With the exception of the two villas, the site has been cleared.

Offers that are conditional upon the receipt of planning permission will not be considered by Mason Partners.