Manchester council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein (pictured) has decided to pull the 400,000 sq ft anchor tenant of Bruntwood’s 2.2m sq ft redevelopment of the former BBC site on Oxford Road in the city in order to create a tech cluster.
The Sir Henry Royce Institute, which Estates Gazette revealed would anchor the Bruntwood project on the former studio site, will instead be located nearby on University of Manchester land.
Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the plan in December, saying the £235m institute would anchor Bruntwood’s 10-acre project.
The proposal to move the institute, made by the chief executive along with city centre regeneration head Pat Bartoli and city centre planning head Dave Roscoe, will go before the council executive next week.
Their report said that a “better understanding of the institute’s functions” and “further analysis” suggested it would enhance academic collaboration and functionality if it was located nearer the National Graphene Institute.
The University of Manchester will now accommodate the institute on its existing estate in close proximity to the Graphene Institute, the proposed Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre on its North Campus and a new engineering development.
The first phase of Bruntwood’s development is expected to deliver 1.4m sq ft by 2018, including 490,000 sq ft of commercial space and a 1,000-space car park.
Bruntwood has been contacted for comment. According to the report, Bruntwood is proposing to leave the site open for a science-based use.
