The University of Buckingham, in partnership with an Indian healthcare provider, has bought Manchester Metropolitan University¡¯s Crewe campus.

The private university will redevelop the 40-acre site as a health science campus and offer biomedical and podiatry degrees.

Apollo Buckingham Health Sciences Campus, a partnership between Buckingham and Indian healthcare conglomerate Apollo Hospital Enterprises, will open in September 2019, after Manchester Metropolitan¡¯s last students leave in the summer. The deal also involves?Crewe-based Unique Childrens Community Interest Company.

MMU announced that it would be leaving the site in 2016, saying that the campus was ¡°no longer academically or financially sustainable¡±.

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Under the banner of University of Buckingham Health Sciences, students will take either a two-year biomedical science degree or a two and a half year podiatry degree. Third-year students will be offered 36-week placements in hospitals and GP surgeries across the north west. The campus will also provide one-year medical foundation degrees.

In a statement, the University of Buckingham said that the project would create 500 new jobs, with the goal to reach the site¡¯s 5,000-student capacity by 2024.?

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Sir Anthony Seldon, vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham, said that he was ¡°excited¡± the university was extending north.

¡°Crewe is an incredibly promising town with huge potential. If we are able to play a part in the rejuvenation of the town and its surrounding areas, as we plan to do, we¡¯d be delighted,¡± he said.

anna.mckie@timeshighereducation.com