Accrue loses appeal over 332-home Trafford scheme 

The planning inspectorate has dismissed an appeal against the non-determination of plans to build apartments on the former B&Q site on Great Stone Road. 

After Trafford Council failed to determine the application within the statutory timeframe, Accrue Capital appealed in a bid to win approval for a 332-apartment development on the site, close to Old Trafford Cricket Ground. 

Prior to the appeal, Trafford Council indicated it would have refused the application given the chance. The authority had also rejected Accrue’s 433-home redevelopment proposal for the site in 2019. 

Trafford Council cited concerns over the development’s design and said it could have an adverse impact on Lancashire County Cricket Club and the Longford Park Conservation Area.  

In addition, the authority said the scheme would constitute overdevelopment of the site and pointed out that the Accrue had “failed to provide a policy compliant level of contributions towards affordable housing and education provision”. 

Accrue had argued that the development should be approved as it would contribute toward Trafford’s five-year housing supply and the provision of affordable homes in the borough. 

In addition, the developer argued that the scheme was supported by principles laid out in the Civic Quarter Area Action Plan. 

Following the inquiry held earlier this year, the planning inspector Andrew McGlone has determined the appeal should be dismissed and the application refused. 

“The proposal would not deliver a high-quality, well-designed building and place,” the McGlone concluded. 

The scheme’s design would cause “substantial harm” to local character and “consequential effects” for future occupants, the inspector added. 

Read the full appeal decision

The future of the site is now unclear. Earlier this year, M7 Capital lent Accrue £4m to refinance two properties in its portfolio, one being the Great Stone Road site. 

After the 2019 rejection, Trafford Council announced its willingness to look at using compulsory purchase powers at the site to deliver a leisure centre.  

According to the Civic Quarter Masterplan, the former B&Q site is suitable for a development of four storeys, with possibilities including parking, a leisure centre and “possibly a mix of higher value uses”.   

However, in January 2021, the council rowed back on this following a review of its leisure centre strategy.   

It is now understood that a residential development is the most likely outcome for the plot, as outlined in the council’s Civic Quarter Area Action Plan.