Plans in for £400m Fallowfield campus overhaul
The University of Manchester has submitted proposals for the long-awaited redevelopment of the Owens Park Campus, seeking permission to demolish several buildings and deliver 3,300 new student beds.
Plans for the scheme, designed by Sheppard Robson, include the demolition of the site’s 1960s tower block, Oak House, and Woolton Hall, which together provide around 2,370 student beds.
These ageing buildings are to be replaced with 3,300 new student bedspaces.
Place North West reported earlier this year that the mothballed Owens Park overhaul was being progressed once more, and a fresh outline planning application for the project has now been submitted to Manchester City Council, superseding the previous scheme.
The University of Manchester is also seeking to procure a partner to design, build, finance, and operate the campus, a contract that is worth up to £400m.
The project is expected to complete by 2030, according to planning documents.
To learn more about the proposals, search for application reference number 138126/OO/2023 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Turley is the planning consultant and the project managers are Rider Levett Bucknall and Midollo. Buro Happold is advising on the environmental impact assessment.
The background
The redevelopment of the student accommodation complex has been in the works for some time.
So far, around 1,100 new student beds have been delivered at Unsworth halls on the corner of Gunnery Lane and Chancellors Way – a project finished off by Vinci after former contractor Carillion went bust.
However, the replacement of existing outdated stock has stalled since the first phase completed in 2019.
Consent for the BDP-designed redevelopment of the site was granted in 2015.
This first iteration of the Owens Park overhaul proposed the demolition of 2,200 outdated student bedrooms – including the 1960s tower block – and delivery of 3,000 modern bedspaces.
At this time, the University of Manchester was working with Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala Development Company. However, in 2016, the parties went their separate ways, prompting a rethink over how the project would proceed.
The delivery of modern PBSA in Fallowfield aligns with the Manchester City Council’s aim to free up housing in the area for families in a bid to increase council tax receipts, from which students are exempt.
