2024 in review | Best-read stories and most-watched videos
Place North West published more than 2,400 stories this past year, 60 videos, and 36 podcasts. Here are the 10 headlines that caught your eye the most, the three videos you watched again and again, and the podcasts that carried you through your commute in 2024.
Best-read stories
10. Salboy lodge plans for 76-storey Manchester skyscraper
Renaker who? Salboy made a case to be the next great skyscraper developer in Manchester, unveiling plans for a 76-storey residential tower off Great Bridgewater Street in August. The apartment block is the second phase of Salboy’s Viadux scheme and has been designed by SimpsonHaugh Architects. Since plans were submitted in August, some tweaks have been made. An unknown luxury hotel brand has joined the scheme, necessitating a reduction in apartments from 782 to 452 in order to accommodate 160 hotel rooms. A consultation on the changes was held in October.
9. Blackpool car park penalty was final straw for ailing Nikal
2024 was a rough year for developer Nikal, which entered administration in November. A month later, we had a timeline of its demise, with Place North West deputy editor Dan Whelan outlining how losing a £4.6m court case against contractor Ballast Nedam spelled the end for Nikal.
8. Stockport clears path for Aldi, 163 flats
One thing we learned in 2024, our readers love a discount supermarket story. You will soon discover the extent of your affection as you continue down this list. This November meeting of Stockport Council’s planning committee was loaded with big projects, in addition to an Aldi off Water Street other projects included Promised Way’s 52-bed Roundhouse off Stitch Lane and Kirkland Developments’ 109 flats off London Road. Not featured in this story, but also on the meeting agenda, was the curry restaurant at the Pyramid – a project that also secured approval.
7. Lidl plans store on Stockport car showroom site
Lidl lodged its plans in June for a 15,000 sq ft shop in Heaton Norris. Around the same time, the retailer also put in for another store in Cheadle Heath. Our comment section was mixed about the application, with some welcoming Lidl and others saying they hoped it would be housing instead of a retail store.
6. Manchester set to approve Renaker’s £1bn skyscraper plan next week
Salboy may have made a splash with its 76-storey skyscraper, but Renaker refused to be ignored this past year. The developer’s 71-storey Lighthouse and four-tower The Green went to Manchester City Council’s planning committee in August. These plans were eventually approved – meaning 2,388 apartments are on their way to being delivered in the city. None of these are designated as affordable.
5. Lidl puts tricky Liverpool site up for sale
The grade two-listed former Abbey Cinema in Wavertree went on the market in February after Lidl decided to abandon its plans to build a supermarket on the site in the wake of fierce local opposition and the grade two-listing of the movie theatre by Historic England. Commenters were divided on Place, with some praising the heritage preservation move and others expressing frustration that an “eyesore” would continue to crumble without any activity.
4. Stockport Council finds tenant for empty Debenhams
Joseph James Furniture signed a five-year lease in January for the 90,000 sq ft department store. The lease is meant to provide a meanwhile use for the site until the government decides if it is suitable or not for a replacement of Stepping Hill Hospital. Sadly, there’s been no real further update on the hospital’s future – Labour said in July that it would be reviewing the previous government’s New Hospitals Programme to see how much of it was actual achievable.
3. Receivers appointed for £125m Manchester tower
The future of Vision started to clear up in May, when the special purpose vehicle behind the 327-flat tower entered administration. It put an end to questions about what was going on with the scheme, with Place readers finally being able to label it as “stalled”. Since then, there have been more developments – Tri7 purchased the Whitworth Street West site in August for £16m.
2. GALLERY | Inside Amir Khan’s £14m Bolton wedding venue
Seed Architects’ designs for a banquet hall that doubles as an “enchanting garden paradise” fascinated readers last year. Our gallery from June showcased the decidedly opulent wedding venue, which the acclaimed boxer has been working on since 2013. It has an estimated construction cost of around £14m. This is one of those stories where pictures speak louder than words, so go on and give it a click.
1. Masterplan unveiled for area around Manchester United’s Old Trafford
Contrary to what you may think, this was not the story about the future of the stadium. Instead, our most-read story of 2024 focussed on Trafford Council’s Trafford Wharfside Development Framework, which was unveiled in February. The 15-year plan mapped out a vision for the 215-acre area that includes up to 5,000 homes, a new school, and a series of hotels and retail spaces. The framework would be approved a little over a week after this original story was written and has since featured in subsequent stories about Manchester United’s own plans for the redevelopment of Old Trafford.
Most-watched videos
To craft this list, we looked at both our views on YouTube and LinkedIn.
3. Wigan – Greater Manchester’s £5bn borough
This video recapped Place North West’s MIPIM panel on the major projects going on in Wigan, including The Galleries, Wigan Pier, and Northfold (previously known as the Wigan-Bolton Growth Corridor).
2. Stockport’s successes so far and what is to come in 2024
Pre-MIPIM, Place headed to Stockport to chat with the council about why 2024 was due to be a transformational year for the borough – including the delivery of hundreds of homes in the town centre, the redevelopment of Merseyway Shopping Centre, and the continued work at Stockport Exchange.
1. Achieving Passivhaus at Irwell Valley in Salford
You do not have to sacrifice sustainability when delivering affordable housing, as Salford City Council, Identity Consult, and PRP Architects have proven at Irwell Valley. Place North West editor Julia Hatmaker toured the site with Identity Consult’s Alex Atkinson to learn more about the project and gather tips on how its success can be replicated elsewhere.
Top three podcasts
3. Scheming with Nuala Gallagher
Liverpool City Council’s corporate director of city development spoke with Place North West deputy editor Dan Whelan about looking to mainland Europe for placemaking inspiration, bringing a beach to London, and setting a new tone in Liverpool.
2. Scheming with Ian Simpson
Simpson is arguably one of Manchester’s most influential architects. He took time to talk with Whelan about his love of glass, working with Renaker to transform the city’s skyline, and his ambitious vision for the inner ring road.
1. Scheming with Tim Heatley
The Capital&Centric co-founder discussed going from muddling his way through the renovation of a humble terrace in Salford to embarking on the challenge of developing a new town from scratch on the first episode of the Scheming podcast.
Who knew stories about Lidl would prove to be so popular
By Middle