Lib Dems welcome the news that MMU expansion plans are put on hold

11.09.27am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 15th May 2008

Local residents feel that Didsbury is too small to accommodate an expansion to MMU

MP for Manchester Withington, John Leech, and local councillors, David Sandiford, Tony Parkinson and Helen Fisher, welcome the news that the proposed MMU extension for its Didsbury campus has been put on hold - in preference for a new campus in Hulme close to the All Saints Campus.

Councillor David Sandiford said, "This is a logical step, given the fact that the Didsbury site is already crowded, and that parking problems are already rife in the residential streets near MMU.

"Local Didsbury residents have been making their opposition to the proposed MMU expansion very clear and they will be relieved by this news."

John Leech MP said: "We have been working closely with the people of Didsbury to show our opposition to the plans of the MMU expansion in Didsbury for a considerable amount of time now. Hulme is much closer to the All Saints campus and to the city centre, making it easier for staff and students to use public transport and reducing the parking problems we were experiencing in Didsbury. Students need state of the art facilities, and need a site that can support them. Didsbury is too small to accommodate these facilities, but the alternative site is appropriate."

Although plans for a Hulme expansion are at a very early stage, it is expected that staff and students from the Didsbury site would move to the brand new site in Hulme. Plans are likely to take between four and five years to complete.

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