Financial close has been reached on a £530m redevelopment of the University of Manchester’s Fallowfield student campus, backed by Rothesay as majority funder. The phased project will deliver 3,300 student bedspaces, extensive amenity space and a major sustainability-led build, with Gateway 2 approvals already secured for the first higher-risk buildings.
Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig has set out a plan to deliver 10,000 new social homes by May 2028, supported by a new Public Sector Land Bank and funding expected through Homes England’s Social and Affordable Housing Programme. The announcement was made alongside a visit to a recently completed EPC A social housing scheme in Ashton-under-Lyne, which Craig cited as a model for energy-efficient, brownfield-led delivery.
The University of East Anglia has started procurement for a contractor to deliver a £76m refurbishment of the Grade II*-listed Sainsbury Centre museum in Norwich. The project, expected to run from May 2027 to May 2029, will replace the external envelope and carry out extensive MEP works to address condition issues, improve energy efficiency and reduce future maintenance liabilities.
The Environment Agency has granted an environmental permit variation to Drax Power Limited for carbon capture at its bioenergy plant near Selby in Yorkshire. The decision followed multiple consultations and a review of revised emissions risk information, with the regulator concluding that the operator meets the required environmental conditions.
