Burnage BTR and Spinningfields hotel extension up for consent

While the Government Property Agency’s 900,000 sq ft city centre digital hub tops Manchester City Council’s February planning bill, it is not the only project tipped for the green light this week.

Moxy Hotel extension

The hotel has been open since late 2021. Credit: PNW

Developer: KE Hotels

Architect: ICA

Planner: Ashton Hale

Reference number: 141460/FO/2024

A three-storey upward extension providing an additional 54 rooms is proposed at Moxy Hotel off Atkinson Street in Spinningfields.

KE Hotels submitted an application to Manchester City Council last year to make Moxy Manchester bigger, citing strong demand and high occupancy rates since the hotel opened in 2021.

The scheme, if approved, would take the number of keys from 146 to 200. Manchester City Council’s planning team has recommended the project for consent.

Located on a constrained site on the edge of Spinningfields, the only expansion option is to go upwards. The current building, built behind the retained facade of the former Invicta House hat factory, rises to nine storeys.

Burnage BTR

The scheme has been tweaked to address Manchester City Council’s concerns. Credit: via planning documents

Developer: Triple Jersey

Architect: Sten Architecture

Planner: DPP

Reference number: 141306/FO/2024

Revised plans for a residential scheme on a site off Mauldeth Road currently occupied by a B&M Bargains store were submitted last year following the withdrawal of a similar scheme.

St Helier-based Triple Jersey wants to build a a 115-home build-to-rent development in Burnage. The revised plans propose three more homes than the first iteration of the scheme, which was withdrawn before being determined by Manchester City Council.

Triple Jersey is proposing 41 two-bedroom apartments and 74 houses, providing a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom properties.

The refreshed plans, unlike the earlier version, propose eight affordable homes. The original scheme was devoid of any affordable homes due to viability constraints.

The first iteration of the development was due to be considered by the authority’s planning committee in February and was recommended for refusal by officers due to the perceived “poor quality” of its design and a lack of affordable homes.

This time around, the project has been recommended for approval despite garnering 106 objections, many citing concerns around the loss of the B&M store.

A planning report prepared by the city council states that since the withdrawal of the earlier application, Triple Jersey “has engaged in discussions with the city council to overcome a number of design and layout concerns that had been raised with the previous proposals.”

It adds: “Those discussions have been positive and have resulted in the proposals subject of this report which are considered to have overcome the previous published reasons for refusal relating to design, provision of defensible private amenity space; relationships to nearby buildings and sites; and, siting of particular house types and potential impacts from comings and goings adjacent to them.”