Demolition work starts on Rik Mayall student tower

Owens Park has been a recognisable feature on the south Manchester skyline since 1965

Demolition work has begun on a landmark student tower block, which once housed Rik Mayall, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jack Whitehall.

Owens Park was built in Fallowfield, south Manchester, in 1965 and has accommodated thousands of students at the University of Manchester.

The Chemical Brothers played their first ever gig there and other musicians who have lived in the tower include Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien.

It closed in 2021 and will be replaced by new accommodation for about 5,400 students.

The Chemical Brothers played their first ever gig at the tower

The current 20 storey-block is expected to be fully demolished by spring 2025.

At the time of its construction, it was considered the gold standard in student digs with sinks in every room.

Former students have been sharing memories, including those who met their future spouses while living in the block.

Paul Carr, who met his wife of 36 years, Jeni, there said: “It’s a very special place for us, for obvious reasons."

“In early October 1983 Jeni and I met for the first time in one of the two lifts in the Owens Park Tower," he said.

“It was my first day back in my second year as a Botany student, and Jeni’s first day in her first year to study Economics.

"She asked in that brief encounter if I was a first year student. At that moment I knew I’d met my future wife.”

Rik Mayall lived at the student tower while he attended Manchester University

Dr Simon Merrywest, director of the student experience for University of Manchester, added: “Owens Park has been home to tens of thousands of students over the years, and served our community really well.

“However, as we enter our 200th year as a university, we have a chance to create new residences which are more sustainable and better suited to students’ needs in the 21st century.”