Plans for an accommodation block with more than 400 flats in the heart of Manchester’s student heartland could be thrown out after council bosses described it as ‘overbearing’.
Watkin Jones Group wants to redevelop the headquarters of the Usdaw union in Fallowfield into ‘high quality and attractive’ managed student accommodation.
Two buildings, 13 storeys and five storeys high, would be built on the site while the Victorian-era Oakley Villa would be refurbished and extended as part of the scheme.
READ MORE : The divide on the future of the Fallowfield Loop as it's set for a £5m upgrade
According to Watkin Jones Group, the scheme on Wilmslow Road would provide an alternative to the large numbers of homes of multiple occupancy (HMOs) in the area.
But the developer’s application has received almost 250 objections from residents and councillors, while council planning officers have now also expressed their opposition.
A report to Manchester planning committee says the 13-storey tower would become an ‘over-dominant’ feature that would tower over nearby homes and Platt Fields Park.
This would have a ‘detrimental effect on the character of the area’ while also ‘urbanising’ the edge of the park and potentially harming neighbouring trees and wildlife habitat, say officers.
Introducing 425 students into an area ‘already experiencing high levels of student accommodation and occupation’, while not providing housing for families or elderly people, has also been raised as an issue by the city's planning department.
The report says: “As described by residents this has put pressure on the area in a number of ways including the provision of local services and antisocial behaviour.
“It is considered that the proposals would add to these pressures and would not have a positive regeneration impact on Fallowfield.”
Watkin Jones Group say the development would help address a ‘pressing need’ to build purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) at ‘competitive prices’ in Manchester.
But objectors claim there would be no incentive for students to move into the proposed PBSA as the rents are ‘significantly greater’ than what they are currently paying in HMOs.
Manchester council has itself said that more needs to be done to entice students out of mainstream housing and into PBSA after losing £17m in council tax revenue in 2019/20.
However planning officers say the proposals fall short of several criteria in the PBSA policy endorsed by the council’s executive last December.
The policy says new PBSA should be focused in and around ‘core university areas’ such as Oxford Road, or near high frequency public transport routes that pass through the area.
Despite a number of buses passing along Wilmslow Road outside the Usdaw site - such as the popular Magic Bus - there are fears the increase in students living along the busy route could make demand for services even higher.
While the University of Manchester, which has a campus in Fallowfield next door, has also given its backing, planning officers say the lack of a formal agreement with Watkin Jones Group for the supply of the accommodation is also a reason for refusal.
Manchester council’s planning committee will consider the application on September 2.
To get the latest email updates from the Manchester Evening News, click here.
