iQ Student Accommodation Weston Halls & the Pendulum Hotel

The site and opportunity

The site covers the existing Weston Halls and Pendulum Hotel buildings, and is bound by Charles Street to the north and Sackville Street to the east.

The site occupies a strategic location within the Oxford Road Corridor close to the universities, which is Manchester City Council’s preferred location for additional purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and is embedded within local strategy and policy¹. Its excellent accessibility and position within a well-established academic and innovation district make it highly suitable for additional student accommodation, while freeing up mainstream housing stock for wider residents and families.

The existing buildings on site are seven storeys in height and currently provide 528 purpose-built student bedrooms and 118 conference centre bedrooms. 

¹The suitability of the site for PBSA development is evidenced within Manchester City Council’s Economic and Executive Committee Report on Purpose Built Student Accommodation in Manchester (May 2023). The Report identifies a pipeline of PBSA schemes and sites that are anticipated to deliver the required amount of PBSA up to 2030 in locations that would be consistent with Policy H12 – this includes the Weston and Pendulum site (referenced as iQ’s Charles Street site).

Site depicted by red line (click the interactive elements for location images)

Strategic location 

The proposed scheme has been developed with consideration to the existing context, including the immediate Charles Street Car Park, University of Manchester (North) Campus (as part of the Sister ID masterplan) and Circle Square. The emerging scheme seeks to revitilise Charles Street and Sackville Street, with improved public realm and active frontages.

The site is in a strategic, highly-accessible city centre location and has excellent transport connectivity. 

Princess Street is a major route into the centre, and Sackville Street along the east of the site provides links to major routes across the city. The site is also located close to the Junction to and from the A57(M) Mancunian Way to the south of the site. 

Manchester Piccadilly Station is located within 400m of the site, with links to the National Rail Network and Metrolink Tram Network.  

There are a number of bus stops within close proximity, including along Charles Street. 

Manchester Coach Station on Chorlton Street is within 400m of the site, and provides links to national coach services across the country. 

The National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 6 passes close to the western boundary of the site and can be accessed via Charles Street. This provides onward connections to Bury via Salford to the north, and Sale and Stockport to the south. NCN Route 66 passes close to the eastern boundary of the site and can be accessed via Charles Street, providing connections to Failsworth and Rochdale to the north east via the canal towpath. 

Pedestrian access to the site from Charles Street to the north and Sackville Street to the east provides connectivity on foot to key destinations within Manchester City Centre. 

Map depicting site connectivity (click to enlarge)

The opportunity

iQ prepared a Development Framework in 2020, which provided a 15-year estate strategy for a number of core sites. Since then, market conditions and the development landscape have led to revisions to this strategy. The revised approach for the site seeks to broadly align with the development parameters established within the Development Framework.

iQ now have an opportunity to deliver improved proposals for the Weston Halls and Pendulum Hotel site.

Manchester continues to experience strong and sustained demand for purpose-built student accommodation in the right locations and many students are occupying the mainstream housing stock, which has a negative impact on the availability and affordability of housing to meet local residents’ needs. The site occupies a prime location within the Oxford Road Corridor, adjacent to University of Manchester buildings.

With iQ already operating a number of neighbouring properties within the vicinity, the proposed development represents a natural and strategic extension to its local portfolio, delivering high-quality, professionally managed accommodation in an area of proven and sustained demand. 

  • The site covers the existing Weston Halls and Pendulum Hotel buildings, and is bound by Charles Street to the north and Sackville Street to the east.

    Set around private courtyards, the existing site encompasses 0.72ha and accommodates a series of connected low-rise buildings, comprising 528 purpose-built student bedrooms and 118 hotel bedrooms, with a density of 897 bedrooms/ha.

  • Retention of the existing buildings is not possible or desirable due to:

    • Recent changes to building regulations regarding High Risk Buildings would make remodelling the existing building for long-term use unviable.

    • Lack of density of the current buildings does not optimise the strategic location of the site.

    • Limited interaction with the pedestrian routes along Charles Street and Sackville Street, which is largely as a result of bedrooms currently being located on the ground floor.

    • The existing internal level are more than 1m higher than the external level, which provides no street engagement.

    The Pendulum Hotel and the adjoining Weston Halls, while well maintained, represent buildings of limited architectural merit that no longer make the most efficient or effective use of their prime location. Situated within a strategic regeneration area, the site currently underdelivers in terms of design quality, urban form, and contribution to the wider cityscape.

    The proposed redevelopment presents a unique opportunity to optimise this underutilised land by introducing a contemporary, high-quality scheme that reflects Manchester’s ongoing transformation. Through the proposed thoughtful design and efficient land use, the development will enhance the character and vitality of the area, support the city’s wider regeneration objectives for this prominent and strategic location, and deliver long-term social, economic, and environmental benefits greater than would otherwise be realised.

    The proposed scheme will deliver 2,508 bedrooms across the two phases, which will increase the site density to 3,483 bedrooms/ha. The phased approach will also reduce the impact, and loss, to existing market stock.

  • Manchester continues to experience strong and sustained demand for purpose-built student accommodation in the right locations, driven by the international reputation and growing intake of its universities.

    The site occupies a strategic location within the Oxford Road Corridor, adjacent to University of Manchester buildings. Its excellent accessibility and position within a well-established academic and innovation district make it highly suitable for additional student accommodation.

    With iQ already operating a number of neighbouring properties within the vicinity, the proposed Weston & Pendulum development represents a natural and strategic extension to its local portfolio, delivering high-quality, professionally managed accommodation in an area of proven and sustained demand.

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