WUKPG presses ahead with Manchester student scheme 

Having consulted on proposals to redevelop a vacant site off Plymouth Grove into a 263-studio PBSA development, the firm has now submitted a planning application for the scheme. 

Designed by DAY Architectural, WUKPG’s scheme would be split into two blocks rising to six and eight storeys.   

The developer told Place North West that the scheme would be managed by This is Fresh, the operator’s first Manchester site. 

The proposals include a gym and wellness studio, a private dining room, a TV lounge, and co-working spaces. 

Externally, there is an upper and lower courtyard proposed at ground floor level. 

Avison Young is advising on planning, RECOM is the project manager, and TPM Landscape is leading the design of the external spaces. 

The project team also includes e3p, XO Square, Kings, Jensen Hughes, Eddisons, Paul Butler Associates, and Element Sustainability. 

To learn more about WUKPG’s proposals, search for reference number 138294/FO/2023 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal. 

In 2016, the site was the subject of redevelopment proposals from 1-5 Plymouth Grove Ltd, an SPV that featured former footballer Kelvin Etuhu among its directors.   

The company, which has since been renamed Via Homes, submitted plans for a 71-apartment scheme before withdrawing them. 

According to Deloitte’s most recent Crane Survey, zero student beds were delivered in Manchester during 2023 and it is generally accepted that demand for this type of accommodation outstrips supply. 

As a result, developers like WUKPG are mobilising en masse to take advantage of Manchester’s student housing shortage. In recent months, proposals for thousands of PBSA units have been progressed. 

McLaren and Moda are planning the delivery of almost 2,000 student flats on Upper Brook Street a short distance from WUKPG’s Plymouth Grove site, while work on Vita’s 600-bedroom House of Social at First Street is underway. 

Last week, Manner revealed it was planning to deliver 500 student beds at Manchester’s Hotspur Press site, a move away from the previously approved apartment scheme. 

The University of Manchester has also applied to overhaul its Owens Park Campus in Fallowfield, a £400m project that has been in the works for many years and proposes more than 3,000 units.