Manchester City Council has approved detailed plans for the redevelopment of the University’s Fallowfield accommodation campus. Construction is scheduled to begin on site in early 2026, following initial permission being granted in January 2024.
Students are expected to be able to move into the new rooms from as early as next year, with the aim for full completion by 2030. Development will now progress towards a start based on the finalised design, layout, and landscaping plans.
The redevelopment covers the area originally housing Owens Park, Oak House, and Woolton Hall. It will create up to 3,300 rooms, alongside new study and social areas, in addition to extensive green spaces.
Construction does not impact Ashburne Hall, Sheavyn House, Richmond Park, Uttley House, or Unsworth Park.
The new accommodation campus will create five distinct ‘neighbourhoods’, each with its own unique identity inspired by the city’s rich cultural, sporting, and musical heritage.
The first phase of the redevelopment was the planned demolition of 2,350 bedrooms, including the now-demolished Owens Park Tower which has stood since the 1960s.
The University is working with private corporate partner “Viridis Living” to deliver the new accommodation.
Rent prices for the new accommodation remain unconfirmed. In December 2024, the University proposed an estimated weekly rent of £235. For the current academic year, first-year undergraduates are advised to budget £13,685 for living costs. Based on the proposed rent and a 41-week contract, students could expect to pay around £9,635 for the new accommodation. This cost is only just covered with the highest maintenance loan for the 2025-26 academic year at £10,544.
This is the first time students have not lived in Oak House following refurbishment last academic year. The cheapest accommodation is now a standard room in Whitworth Park, costing £118 per week.
Plans for the site have been previously uncertain. In December 2022, an investigation from The Mancunion found there were no plans for Owens Park Tower at that time, despite having been empty at the time for seven years. However, redevelopment on the Fallowfield Campus technically started in 2015, when planning permission was granted for new accommodation from a different construction firm, with Unsworth Park being completed in 2019.
Following planning consent being granted, Barra Mac Ruairí, Chief Property Officer at the University of Manchester said: “We are really pleased with the progress and see this as a major milestone in providing quality homes in Fallowfield with excellent student support facilities”.
