City centre developments draw Manchester students away from Fallowfield

Developments by Vita Student for a new multi-storey student block, containing 861 student rooms, are set to receive planning permission from Manchester City Council this week.

The building is proposed to be a part-12, part-33 storey student tower, located on First Street in the centre of town.

Of these rooms, 15 per cent are said to be available at affordable rates.

The MEN reports that this development signifies a trend in Manchester students migrating from the south of the region, with a 46 per cent increase in students in the centre between 2016 and 2022.

Executive councillor for housing, Gavin White, told the publication that the so-called exodus has prompted the council to “manage a pipeline of student accommodation” in the city.

The majority of universities base their campuses around towards the Oxford Road Corridor, with Gavin White stating that “more students are choosing to live closer to their studies and the lure of city centre living.”

“It is the role of the council to make sure that Manchester can react and adapt to different housing trends – and we are actively managing a pipeline of student accommodation schemes that have sufficient supply in the right locations to meet demand.

“Purpose built Student Accommodation also provides a good alternative to mainstream city centre housing, helping to free up homes for our general population. Council tax from these homes can then also be received helping to fund the city’s essential services.”

Though the development connotes a move from popular student areas in Fallowfield and Withington, a spokesperson for University of Manchester told the MEN that around “43 per cent of applicants in 2021/22” chose Fallowfield based accommodations “as their first preference.”

Both the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan have proposed and began works on enhancing their accommodation offering, with UOM redeveloping their former Owen’s Park site in the heart of Fallowfield.