Expansion Of Manchester Life Science Campus Approved

Life science professionals in the north-west will be able to benefit from new offices, laboratories and facilities after an expansion to Manchester Science Partnerships’ (MSP) campus was given the go-ahead.

MSP was granted approval by Manchester City Council for the 125,000 square foot fourth phase of its Citylabs site on Oxford Road.

The £35 million site will complement the other three phases, which MSP has been building since 2013.

Managing director of MSP Thomas Renn told Place North West the company is confident it will finish Citylabs 2.0, which it is currently building, despite the country being in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Despite challenges, we are determined to finish that project… we are through the main hump of the construction phase and are due to handover by June,” Mr Renn stated.

While the third phase, which would involve the reconstruction of Old Saint Mary’s Hospital and chapel, were due to be built next, it is expected the construction of Citylabs 4.0, on Hathersage Road, will supersede this.

This will allow existing staff to be relocated and provide medical continuity, MSP confirmed.

For the fourth phase to go ahead, the temporary Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust Diabetes Centre and its adjacent car park would need to be demolished first.

Currently, Citylabs 1.0 provides space for a number of diagnostics, medtech, digital health and genomics businesses. Once the £25 million Citylabs 2.0 is complete, it will be used as QIAGEN’s European Hub for Diagnostics Development.

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