Manchester Science Partnerships has submitted a planning application to Manchester City Council seeking approval for its proposed £60m expansion of the Citylabs campus, its biomedical centre of excellence.
If approved, the proposed developments – taken forward in a joint venture partnership with Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) – are expected to boost Manchester’s economy by more than £100m and bring 750 jobs to the city by 2020.
Located on the CMFT campus in the heart of Manchester’s Innovation District, Corridor Manchester, Citylabs 2.0 and 3.0 will be targeted at health and medical technology companies.
MSP and CMFT have already received a number of expressions of interest from potential occupiers after showcasing Citylabs 2.0 and 3.0 during a recent trade mission to the US, which included meetings at the important global AdvaMed conference.
Thomas Renn, Managing Director of Manchester Science Partnerships said: “After consulting with the local community and other stakeholders last month, we’re pleased and excited to be bringing this ambitious development forward.
“The success of Citylabs 1.0 – which was fully let within 15 months of opening – has given us the confidence to invest in phases two and three, and we are sure demand will be strong for these high quality facilities located in a great physical and intellectual environment.”
Keith Chantler, Director of Innovation at CMFT explained: “This joint partnership with MSP offers a fantastic opportunity for our patients, staff and our hospitals, to further develop the successful Citylabs cluster. Citylabs brings together NHS, university and industry partners to co-develop new healthcare technologies.
“By involving clinicians and patients from the start of the development and testing process, products are more likely to meet our future needs, and be rapidly adopted by the NHS and other health services across the world.”
The work will be carried out in two phases.
Phase 1, the £25m Citylabs 2.0 development will comprise 92,000 sq ft of lab and office space. Subject to planning permission being granted, construction work will begin in autumn 2017, with completion expected in late 2018.
Phase 2, Citylabs 3.0 will span 128,000 sq ft and integrate the development of new buildings with the Old Saint Mary’s Hospital, an existing listed Victorian building. Construction is planned to start in summer 2018 and is due to be completed in 2020.
