Green light for John McAslan's £120m super-campus

The masterplan for Manchester Metropolitan University's (MMU) £120m Birley Fields campus designed by UK practice John McAslan & Partners has been approved.

The integrated 12 hectare site is intended to revive the area by creating around 350 jobs and adding an annual value of £29m into local shops and services.

Its large scale will allow for landscaping and an open square area will be accessible to the community and buildings will be designed to incorporate the latest environmental technologies to minimise carbon, water and waste.

It is hoped that the campus will be the "greenest in the UK" as the usual restrictions made by existing services and planning constraints do not apply to the site. Integrated activities on the mixed-use development will open up space for recycling water, minimising energy and waste consumption.

Planned on the largest slum clearance in Europe during the sixties, the area will be transformed by the scheme as it plays a major part in the regeneration of Hulme.

Aidan Potter, director at John McAslan, said: “The MMU masterplan complements the city's strategies for regeneration, public services and sustainable development. The planned £120m investment is a huge statement of confidence in Hulme, especially in a period of economic recession.”

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester council, said: “MMU's proposal has the potential to herald a new chapter in the regeneration of Hulme. As well as the jobs it directly creates there will be significant spin-off benefits for businesses as students and staff spend money in the area. Crucially, it will also open up new higher education opportunities for local people.”

The scheme shows how higher education can benefit communities when it is linked and embedded in the local area.

The project is part of a £400m investment in MMU campuses across Manchester and Cheshire.