Anwyl breaks ground on 65 Chorlton homes
The housebuilder bought a redundant five-acre site off Wilbraham Road from the Greater Manchester Youth Federation charity for the scheme.
Anwyl Homes was chosen as the preferred development partner for the site two years ago and planning permission was granted in October last year.
Owned by the GMYF since the 1960s, the land has been unused and closed off to the public since 2016.
The first of the 65 homes are expected to be released for sale this autumn with work now started on the Dalton Fields scheme, comprising of three- and four-bedroom homes for private sale, plus 13 affordable properties.
Seven of those affordable homes will be designated for social rent and the other six for shared ownership.
Energy efficiency is one of the key features of the development with air source heat pumps to provide heating and hot water in place of traditional gas boilers, and electric vehicle charging points being installed.
S106 contributions as part of the development will total almost £560,000, with funding provided towards an orchard being planted at the neighbouring St Margaret’s Centre and playing field.
A portion of the funds will also go to football club Maine Road FC, who play at the Brantingham Road ground next door, Alexandra Park, and South Manchester Cricket Club.
Other beneficiaries will be youth services across Manchester as the Greater Manchester Youth Federation supports 30 clubs across the city region.
Phil Dolan, chief operating officer at Anwyl Homes, said: “Our new development will bring far-reaching benefits for the community.
“As well as delivering energy efficient new and affordable homes to meet strong demand, it will also bring on-site biodiversity net gain, additional tree planting, and funding for local sports facilities.
“This includes upgrades to LED floodlights for our neighbours Maine Road FC so the club can host more home fixtures.
“We’ve worked closely with the GMYF throughout the planning process. This land transaction represents a significant step forward for the charity in securing a more sustainable future.”
GMYF owned the site for more than 50 years. Credit: via planning documents
Dolan added: “It has taken several years of work for them to bring this site to market and achieve planning consent.
“It’s been a real team effort between us, the GMYF, property consultants Roger Hannah, planning consultants Asteer Planning, and legal advisors Shoosmiths.
“On behalf of ourselves and the GMYF, I’d also like to thank Manchester City Council and local ward members for their input and support throughout.”
Karen Wilson, chief executive of the GMYF, said: “The positive ripple effect from the sale of this site by the GMYF will be felt for decades to come. It’s brought huge social value, delivering affordable homes, and generating cash to reinvest straight back into youth services in Manchester.
“Every penny will go back into providing facilities for young people in our community. It’s ensured our charity will remain sustainable long-term so we can continue offering vital provisions, including youth centres and sports facilities, to give young people positive, safe places where they can spend time.
“Even before the land sale was completed, we’ve been able to plan, knowing this funding for our future was guaranteed.”
The charity opened its first youth centre, Partington Youth and Community Centre two years ago, entering into a 99-year lease with Trafford Council for the building.
It also committed £200,000 to refurbish The Charlestown Centre, formerly the Whitemoss Youth and Community Centre, which reopened last month.
To view the Dalton Fields plans, search for application reference 135604/FO/2022 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Surely the Chorlton Nibby brigade objected, they object to everything else.
By Anonymous
@July 16, 2024 at 5:01 pm
By Anonymous
Nibby?
By Anonymous
As well they should, shocking number of cars in chorlton already
By Anonymous
They be building denser in an inner city area to get more homes.
By Anonymous
I’m sure everyone reading this article agrees that a longstanding, independent, volunteer-ran, community football club receiving some funds via this development is an overwhelmingly positive thing and vastly outweighs it meaning a few more cars on the roads…
By Barry Pipes
@July 16, 2024 at 6:23 pm
By Anonymous
Good tram line nearby.
By Anonymous
CGI looks like its from the 80s… dated house types. Manchester should be pushing a lot harder for good design.
By jack
Good to see the proceeds of this land sale going back to into providing wider youth facilities. Well done GMYF.
By Ann Field
@Anonymous 8.21am makes no difference to anything
By Anonymous
Jack these are the perfect design
By Anonymous
Now if someone could just sort out the embarrassment of Chorlton precinct that would be great.
By Anonymous
These house types are so dated and archaic. 1980s Brookside throwback. Manchester can and should be doing better and denser, we have a housing crisis so why are developers being allowed to take up so much room with this nonsense?
By Anonymous
There trying to squeeze too many houses onto one site, greed
By Anonymous
What is deemed as “ affordable ?” . Anyone who can afford a 4 bed house is not desperate . Ok tag a few “ affordable “ ones on to get the planning permission and another few token gestures then it’s fine .
By Anonymous
@July 17, 2024 at 11:18 am
By Anonymous
With their shrunken windows, these are very far from the perfect design.
By Anonymous
Totally unsuitable design and layout for the area – could make so much better use of the land, with higher density, less car parking, more renewable energy and built to PassivHaus standards.
By Anonymous
Really disappointing house designs though and 65 houses on that land.. gonna be small boxes.. and really small gardens.. but more houses mean more ££££ for the developers.
By Anonymous
The fields were used for football matches for a number of years. As a community we asked the charity if we could use it for local sports activities in 2019. It had not been used for 3 years and was overgrown at this point. We even offered to maintain it at no cost to them. This was refused as they said it would affect their council rates. The cynic in me thinks they allowed it to remain unused so that it could be sold.
By Anonymous
Privately owned and social homes do not mix well.
By Anonymous
According to Land registry I thought this land was covenanted to the boys club charity by the church strictly for the purpose of sport in the community!! How have Manchester City council managed to get around that again, just like the covenant on Broughton Park Rugby Club which is now the sprawling Chelsfield estate, seems the planning office have free pass to do what they like. It will be hough end fields next ! This should have been opened for public youth sports instead of selling off all our little patches of green it should have been protected by the planning laws!!!
By Anonymous
Yet more unaffordable housing for the locals and another area once used for the community and so called protected by covenant.And by the way just reminder Whalley Range A F C.has been in existence since 1904 or there abouts any funds for them for floodlights? guess not may be Kings Rd isn’t close enough to the development to be considered or even contacted about any funding.
By C Hutchinson
I left in Chorlton because there was never anywhere to park outside my flat, visitors would come and park on residential streets, you can’t get a pram or a wheelchair past so have to go onto the road, chaos
By Anonymous
@ July 18, 2024 at 12:14 am
By Anonymous
I believe you’re incorrect on this. Poundbury in Dorset does this very successfully to name but one of many examples.
By Anonymous
Undersized windows on new houses are a blight but I believe things are improving. New apartments seem to be ok on the other hand for windows.
By Craig