Manchester Metropolitan's state-of-the-art library given planning green light

Planning permission has been granted for the new state-of-the-art library at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Manchester City Council approved the project today (February 15), which will see the current library at All Saints on Oxford Road replaced with a modern and dynamic learning environment.

Architects Hawkins\Brown and Schmidt Hammer Lassen were commissioned to design the new iconic building and demolition works are expected to begin on site in the Autumn of 2024. Construction is due to complete in spring 2028, with the library ready for the start of the 2028/29 Academic year.

Plans were announced for the new Library in November 2023, ahead of Manchester Metropolitan’s 200th birthday. The University is currently celebrating two centuries of driving innovation and progress through excellence in education and research.

The eye-catching new building will feature digitally enabled teaching and research facilities to enhance students’ data science and analytical skills and flexible break-out spaces to support collaboration and nurture ideas.

It will also house the University’s Special Collection Museum and the Manchester Poetry Library - the North West’s first public poetry library, plus a new gallery and event spaces that public audiences will be invited to engage with.

Andrew Fallon, Director of Estates, Facilities and Capital Development at Manchester Metropolitan, said: “We have reached a significant milestone today with the approval of plans for our new Library by Manchester City Council. This project reinforces Manchester Metropolitan University’s commitment to providing outstanding academic and student experiences. Our continued campus investment makes this possible, providing a world-class, state-of-the-art, digitally enabled estate fit for the 21st century.

“The new Library will be a striking addition to our estate and the Oxford Road skyline, serving as an iconic All Saints architectural gateway to our University. Once built, it will provide a vibrant learning, research, and collaboration hub, empowering our University community and fostering creativity and engagement for future generations.”