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Redevelopment of the site following demolition of the existing buildings represents the best option to achieve a student experience aligned to students’ expectations in today’s competitive accommodation market.

The design of the new buildings will aim to ensure both their initial construction and long-term operation are aligned with our approach to environmental sustainability.

Our objectives for the project are to:

• Meet student accommodation need, demand and increasing supply.

• Provide prime, modern student accommodation.

• Offer a mix of bedrooms to cater for different needs and price points relative to the wider market in the city.

• Provide a supportive residential experience.

Alongside this, the Fallowfield Campus has the potential to contribute wider benefits to the city beyond the need for student beds.

The delivery of modern student accommodation promotes city-wide regeneration objectives in supporting employment growth, graduate and talent retention and developing 51¸£ÀûÉç as a city of choice on the international market, and in supporting the wider housing market by catering for specific needs.

Our approved proposals for the south-west corner of the Fallowfield Campus (the site boundary is depicted by the red line on the plan, covering Owen’s Park, Oak House and Woolton Hall) will replace existing bedrooms on site with up to 3,300 new bed spaces, along with dedicated amenity space, staff accommodation, ancillary residential dwellings and greenspace.

This would result in up to 5,400 bedrooms across the Fallowfield Campus, helping to uplift the current number of bedrooms by up to 950 to meet growing demand. By widening the supply, it will provide students with greater choice, helping to meet demand for modern bedrooms across the popular campus.

Please visit the have your say section to watch a webinar on the proposals for the 'Reserved Matters' application.

The site is in a well-connected, sustainable and accessible location and presents an opportunity to create an improved campus environment.

The following guiding principles were established at outline planning stage, and remain relevant to the detailed proposals:

• Retaining the primary student arrival point on Wilmslow Road.
• Retaining the existing perimeter tree planting and overall green character.
• Increasing the number of amenity spaces including green spaces and hubs to cater for students across the Fallowfield campus.
• Supporting a network of pedestrian routes to enable a walkable campus environment.
• Providing safe and accessible cycle storage.

The proposed layout reflects the University’s passion to provide accommodation that creates an enhanced student experience to stimulate academic endeavour.

The buildable development areas, exclusion zones and connectivity diagrams have been carefully interpreted to maximise the qualities of the site and its spatial context in relation to both the University campus and the wider Fallowfield community. Key elements of the proposed layout are as follows:

• Accommodation blocks set in landscape are arranged to create five vibrant new neighbourhoods each with their own identity and sense of place.
• Each neighbourhood has a dedicated ‘Local Hub’ which houses shared communal facilities to enrich the student experience by supporting interaction and fostering a sense of community.
• The main central hub is focussed more on student support and extra-curricular activities as well as dining and entertainment spaces that serve the wider campus.

Together the culmination of elements will provide a high-quality student experience and a highly attractive and sustainable place to live.

Circulation

A new primary avenue connects the existing main entrance to the west (on Wilmslow Road) along a colonnaded and animated street to the new central hub facility on the eastern boundary. A secondary hierarchy of planned routes and vistas help legibility and way finding around the site, contributing towards a community focussed approach. This is supplemented by a tertiary series of meandering paths through the site that takes advantage of its leafy setting encouraging use of external space.

Building typologies have evolved through design development to comprise two main types intended to serve alternative purposes:

• A series of ‘L’ blocks are located around the perimeter of the site and are arranged to form inward-facing courtyards giving a sense of enclosure and seclusion.
• The taller articulated ‘S’ blocks run through and define the centre of the site to frame and support movement patterns and also benefit from longer views to the surrounding areas.

Scale

The tallest proposed block will be 15-storeys with the majority of blocks at six storeys. The established ‘height zone’ ensures that any development is away from the Site boundary and beyond the mature tree line, concealing the massing from view.

The lower scale at the edge of the site responds to the immediate local context. Furthermore the taller blocks are orientated north to south to limit overshadowing.

The overall appearance is one of a confident and contextual expression of brick and reconstituted stone buildings set in lush green landscape.

A palette of materials has been chosen to reflect and sit sympathetically with the Fallowfield Campus and wider area. A subtle tonal range in the materiality is provided in the form of warm light and dark red bricks to reflect the domestic scale and heritage of the area, and cooler greys for the reconstituted stone that respond to more modern development.

The development proposal have been carefully planned to minimise any loss of trees. The belt of mature woodland trees to the site perimeter along Wilmslow Road and Moseley Road will be retained along with all of the best trees (Category A) and the woodland improved with new planting.

Throughout the site historical bands of mature trees will be retained wherever possible although 82 trees will need to be removed for construction purposes and to allow the new blocks to be built. The landscape proposals will improve the long term resilience of the tree population by planting new trees to replace those removed, and selecting species which have adaptability to long-term climate change, as well as biodiversity value. It is envisaged that a minimum of 246 replacement trees will be planted on site (1:3 felling: replacement ratio).

The biodiversity of the site will be improved by introducing new native plant species to existing woodland, hedgerow and grassland habitats, and adding new habitats such as green roofs and swales. In addition the conditions for bats, birds and invertebrates will be improved through the provision of nesting and roosting boxes, and insect hotels.

Within the landscape of the site a hierarchy of spaces will be provided preserving and enhancing the existing character of the site. New amenity space include a central communal greenspace linked to the central hub and the new well-lit east-west walking route through the campus which will be accessible to the public, creating a pleasant walk through the site connecting Wilmslow Road with Richmond Park.

Within the residential blocks to the west of the central hub will be a secure and private garden area where communal facilities such as growing spaces and facilities such as a repair café can be housed. A main tree-lined pedestrian route will circulate the campus, used occasionally by service vehicles. It will be designed to be pedestrian friendly and offer clear routes through the site. Off this will be sited the more domestic courtyard gardens each linked to a residential block which will be designed to reflect the individual character of the landscape. A perimeter woodland walk will offer a fitness trail and quieter places to sit.

Fallowfield Campus is located in a highly accessible location, in close proximity to local amenities that cater for students’ needs giving access to goods and services, food and beverage and leisure activities. There are excellent connections by public transport, walking and cycle routes to the city centre and University areas to the north.

Pedestrian and cycle access will be maintained from Moseley Road, Wilmslow Road and Whitworth Lane, with additional connectivity permeating through from the rest of the Fallowfield campus to the north and east. Internally, walking and cycling routes will largely be free of vehicles except on move-in/out days and for refuse collection purposes.

High-quality cycle parking will be provided for c25% of the student population, which equates to a provision of over 800 cycle parking spaces conveniently located across the campus and near residencies and amenities.

The proposals will reduce the overall provision of car parking, giving priority instead to improving public realm and access for pedestrians and cyclists. Levels of accessible (blue badge) parking will be maintained to meet requirements.

A ‘Reserved Matters’ planning application is now being prepared, which proposes the details for a development that have been ‘reserved’ at the outline application stage. In this case, the ‘Reserved Matters’ application will provide detail on appearance, landscaping, layout and scale.

We will be submitting the ‘Reserved Matters’ planning application to 51¸£ÀûÉç City Council in early 2025.

Public consultation on our proposals is now closed and was open for five weeks (5 December 2024 to 9 January 2025).  

All feedback received will be carefully considered before the submission of the application.  

Please find below a recording of a webinar that took place during public consultation: