Joint venture submits £400m plans for 2,300 new student accommodation beds

Student accommodation provider, Unite Students, has submitted plans to create 2,300 bed spaces across two complexes for Manchester Metropolitan University as part of an investment worth almost £400m.

The proposed All Saints Campus scheme, which follows extensive public consultation, will replace the current 770-bed Cambridge Halls building.

The two new complexes will be separated by a new public thoroughfare and will help to meet the university’s growing need for student housing while also improving the overall quality of accommodation and providing new spaces for community use along Cambridge Street as part of the investment.

Manchester is the UK’s second largest university city with more than 100,000 full time students studying at four universities.

Manchester Metropolitan University needs around 5,700 beds every year to meet the demand from its first year and international students, but currently owns less than half that amount.

This significant undersupply is a common story across the city and has resulted in increased rents, reliance on privately rented family homes.

Through a joint venture with Manchester Metropolitan University, Unite Students is seeking to redevelop the site to help ensure as many students as possible have access to high quality, modern on-campus accommodation, including facilities like private bathrooms which are now a clear expectation of the modern student experience.

The plans will see the existing Cambridge Halls demolished and redeveloped, providing 2,300 new studio and cluster bedrooms at a range of price points.

Following public consultation and stakeholder engagement over the past year, a number of changes have been made to the scheme which has been submitted to Manchester City Council.

This includes the retention of unrestricted pedestrian movements through the middle of the site, as well as enhanced, shared public spaces.

The project team, working alongside Unite Students and Manchester Metropolitan University, consists of Turley (planning, strategic communications, economics, EIA, heritage, TVIA and sustainability), architects Cartwright Pickard, Re-Form Landscape, Arup and Waterman Group.

Andrew Fallon, chief property officer, Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “As an ambitious university, we are committed to providing a truly modern campus here in the city centre for our students, colleagues and the community.

“This joint venture will provide much needed additional purpose-built student accommodation in Manchester, right on the doorstep of our university. The final plans we have submitted will not only enhance the quality of housing for students, but also benefit the surrounding community through new health, wellbeing, and retail offerings.”