Manchester Metropolitan University - Didsbury campus to close

Plans to shut a 20-acre campus in Didsbury presently housing teacher training courses have been announced by Manchester Metropolitan University, which will transfer 2,740 students to a new purpose-built site in Hulme. The university had planned to invest £19 million in expanding the Didsbury campus, but it met opposition from some local residents, who argued that the development would lead to car-parking problems. John Brooks, Manchester Met's vice-chancellor, told the South Manchester 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 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." If the plans for the Hulme development - which is set to cost about £90 million - are given the go-ahead, all of Manchester Metropolitan's students will have moved out of Didsbury by 2011.