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One of the campus buildings on Wilmslow Road, Didsbury
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Shock as university moves out of Didsbury
Marie Burchill15/ 5/2008
BOSSES at the Manchester Metropolitan University have revealed plans to shut down its 20-acre campus in Didsbury.
They are looking at proposals to close their Wilmslow Road site, home to its prestigious teacher training course, and transfer all 2,740 of their students to a new purpose-built site in Hulme.
The news came as university bosses revealed they have shelved controversial plans to move another 1,900 students into the Didsbury campus following the planned closure of the Elizabeth Gaskell site in Rusholme.
MMU were looking to invest £19 million into the Didsbury campus expansion to build new teaching blocks to cater for their extra students.
However, the plans were met with fierce opposition from some local residents, who argued that the expansion would lead to more car parking problems and disruption.
MMU’s Vice Chancellor Professor John Brooks told the Reporter: "We are very sad that we have been unable to make progress with our plans in Didsbury.
"The university has a long history in Didsbury and there is a resounding feeling from staff that we will all be very sad to leave it behind.
"We tried very hard to work with local residents and to develop a positive approach during our expansion plans.
"However, we are very excited about the prospects that a new campus in Hulme offers us."
Under the plans, MMU bosses have revealed that they are looking to close both the Didsbury campus – along with its neighbouring halls of residence, Broomhurst Halls – and the Elizabeth Gaskell campus, with the aim of providing a new linked campus on land adjacent to the university’s current All Saints site in Hulme.
If the plans for the Hulme development – which is set to cost around £90 million – are given the go-ahead, all of MMU’s students will have moved out of Didsbury by 2011.
The new plans will be a blow to local traders, many of whom bank on student trade and had been looking forward to the new influx of customers.
But residents who campaigned against the expansion plans have been cheered by the news.
Frances Ives, of Didsbury Residents’ Association, said: "We are delighted.
"People had warned us during our campaign that the university could pull out of Didsbury altogether, but that did not and does not worry us.
"We would be very, very pleased to see all of the land turned into residential developments, which would hopefully allow us to welcome affordable living for the area."
However, the news has not been welcomed by all. Local resident Geoff Bridson said: "I am outraged.
"The university provides so much employment to the people of south Manchester and the teacher training course is a well-known institution."
Most recent 2 of 5 user comments
18/05/2008 at 02:11
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Anyone who thinks parking round here is ok should run the gauntlet with cars parking dangerously outside our local post office....I am neither elderley nor a buggy-pushing parent, but it can be a dangerous, scary experience.
If the education dept is moving, I hop MMU will be prompt in advising how the campus will be deployed. They obviously know already otherwise the move would not have happened....so MMU, what's it to be???
22/05/2008 at 21:36