Latimer’s £34m Islington Wharf resi completes in Manchester

Work has wrapped on the 106-apartment project from the development arm of social landlord Clarion Housing Group.

Latimer’s new housing block, which comprises 54 affordable flats, was delivered by Waterside Places, a joint venture between Muse and Canal and River Trust,

In keeping with its parent company’s mission, Latimer has designated 54 flats in the block as affordable tenure.

The housing block encompasses two buildings. The taller one is 16 storeys, while the shorter one is 11 storeys. Together, they contain a mixture of one- and two-bedroom apartments that start at £80,850 for a 35% share.

These 106 flats add to the 348 homes already created by the wider Islington Wharf project. The Latimer building marks the fourth and final phase of that scheme.

This phase of Islington Wharf has a gross development value of £34m and was built by main contractor Morgan Sindall Construction.

“We are pleased to hand over the keys to the final phase to Latimer, which will provide additional, much-needed homes in the heart of Manchester city centre,” said Waterside Places senior development manager, Tom Webber.

The first residents of the Ryder Architecture-designed building are expected in September, according to Clarion group development director Richard Cook.

“Delivering aspirational homes in sought-after locations through affordable means is key to our offering at Latimer,” he said.

“By offering stylish contemporary apartments in one of Manchester’s most vibrant and exciting districts, Islington Wharf is a perfect example of this.”

Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, Cllr Gavin White, praised Islington Wharf.

“We know that demand for quality affordable housing is high in Manchester and through our ambitious housing strategy not only have we committed to delivering 10,000 affordable homes over the next decade, but we have also pledged to support more Manchester people onto the housing ladder and into their own property,” White said.

“This development is therefore a twin boon for our city centre and we welcome the drive from our housing partners to help deliver the homes our residents need.”

Shaun Jones, the Greater Manchester area director for Morgan Sindall Construction, was keen to point out that Islington Wharf was very much a GM project.

“The project has been a joint effort with all parties sharing the same goal to regenerate and positively impact the area for residents for years to come,” Jones said.

“Over 200 local GM residents worked on the project with 55 of these positions being newly created jobs for people within Manchester. We also supported 26 apprentices over the duration of the build and achieved a social value return on investment of over £10m.”

The project team for this phase of Islington Wharf also included Hydrock, which provided transport planning, geo-environmental, civil and structural engineering, and water environment consultancy services.

Place North West visited Islington Wharf when it topped out in October. You can watch a video of our visit below or on our YouTube channel.