Aviva tables plans for 400,000 sq ft Manchester industrial 

A five-unit extension to the existing Atlas Business Park in Wythenshawe is the proposal from the London-based investment firm. 

Aviva Investors has submitted a planning application for 411,000 sq ft of employment space close to Manchester Airport almost a year after first consulting on the proposals. 

Designed by Hale Architecture, the scheme would see the construction of five units ranging from 37,000 sq ft to 166,000 sq ft. 

In total, the Atlas Business Park extension will see 383,000 sq ft of warehouse space and 28,000 sq ft of ancillary office space developed on a vacant 23-acre plot off Simonsway. 

Part of the site, close to both Heald Green train station and Peel Hall Metrolink station, was previously occupied by the Ferranti electronics factory. The company went bust in 1993. Around half of the site is located within the strip of Green Belt that separates Heald Green and Wythenshawe. 

Turley is advising Aviva on planning matters. 

To learn more about the application, search for reference number 135952/FO/2023 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal. 

The scheme is the latest large scheme to come forward in Wythenshawe, an area Manchester City Council has in its regeneration crosshairs. 

The authority acquired the 350,000 sq ft civic centre from St Modwen in June 2022 paving the way for a wholesale regeneration of the town centre. 

Plans to transform Wythenshawe Hospital into a sustainable health village over the next 15 years are also in the works.