Plans for a £450m Student and Life Science Cluster in the Centre of Manchester

Manchester City Council’s planning committee meets next week to discuss the plans of two connected projects on Upper Brook Street, that are set to bring dedicated Laboratory space into the heart of Manchester and work towards cementing Manchester as a Life Science powerhouse in the region.

Credit: Kadans

What is the Proposed Project?

Four parties, Property Alliance Group, Moda, McLaren Property, and Kadans plan to revitalise an underused area in the heart of the Central university campuses in the Oxford Road Corridor. The developments consist of two connected projects that feature almost 2000 units of purpose-built Student accommodation alongside dedicated laboratory and office space aimed for life science use.

The developments are opposite the new £350m Manchester Engineering Campus Development and the National Graphene Research Institute. The development is looking to create a new neighbourhood on the edge of the city centre for students and growing businesses in all science sectors.

As a business that supports and works closely with many life science businesses in the region, we think it is great to see more capacity being created locally. Expanding the life science cluster is a win for the region and will hopefully attract national and global interest, bringing jobs and growth in this sector.

We also hope this will be a great opportunity to revitalise an area of the Manchester Corridor with not just student accommodation but also a new neighbourhood.

Overall it is more welcome news on high quality investment in a strategic sector in Manchester, one of our great cities.