Luxury student flat plan snubbed by university
MANCHESTER University has not supported a plan by a Wilmslow developer to build luxury apartments for wealthy foreign students at First Street.
A council document, filed ahead of a planning decision on Thursday, shows the University of Manchester’s estates department was “unable to support the proposal” on the grounds of oversupply.
It referred to a joint statement by the university and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) issued last year that warned oversupply of student accommodation could undermine the city’s regeneration efforts.
But Vita shareholder Mark Stott told TheBusinessDesk.com that MMU supported the plan.
Vita, which already has a student scheme in Liverpool, has submitted plans for 279 luxury serviced apartments and a 1,800 sq ft commercial unit on the ground floor.
The First Street site already has approval for a £20m cinema and theatre building, an 11-storey 208-bed Melia hotel, a 10-storey car park and 30,000 sq ft of restaurants, bars, and shops.
Council officers recommend the scheme is approved, but they refer to a statement issued by the universities last year that outlined their general unease – and that of the city council – that there are too many new build student accommodation developments, given applications have fallen since the introduction of higher fees.
The document says: “They believe that this oversupply could result in a number of negative aspects for the city including, empty properties, developments in inappropriate locations including some which have the potential to undermine the viability of developments that support the city’s regeneration efforts.”
However, planning officers believe Vita is meeting an “identified need for a unique high quality student accommodation offer within the city”.
They add: “The proposed accommodation is capable of being a key catalytic aspect of the wider regeneration of First Street and therefore can demonstrate a positive regeneration impact in its own right.”
Vita is owned by Mark Stott who founded Select Property, which specialises in selling properties in Dubai, and Chris Oakes of upmarket developer Huntsmere.
