Consultation launches for £20m Manchester LGBT+ extra care home
Anchor has unveiled its plans for a 100-apartment complex in Whalley Range, which will aim to have a majority of LGBT+ residents.
Anchor is working with Manchester City Council and a community steering group led by the LGBT Foundation on the project, which is located on a two-acre brownfield site off Russell Road. According to a press release, the centre would be the country’s first purpose-built LGBT+ majority housing development exclusively for older people.
“At Anchor, we manage over 55,000 homes nationwide, including locations in Manchester, and have developed a strong reputation for delivering high-quality homes where people love living in later life,” said Charles Taylor, Anchor’s director of new business.
“We share the collective ambition with Manchester City Council to create an exemplary, inclusive development on this well-located site in the heart of the Whalley Range community.”
The extra care homes will have a mixture of one and two bedrooms. All of the prospective 100 to 110 apartments will be designated as affordable rent and shared ownership. Plans include a variety of amenities including a restaurant, lounges and treatment rooms.
Residents of the extra care home would have to be aged 55 years or older. While the project will be inclusive, a majority of those residents will identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or non-binary.
The scheme is being designed by Leeds-based Brewster Bye Architects, with landscaping designs by Gloucestershire-based Portus & Whitton.
Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and employment, Cllr Gavin White, called the development a “landmark for the LGBT+ community”.
Pegasus is the planning consultant for the project. Perega is the structural engineer and Faithful + Gould is the cost consultant. Anchor was chosen as the contractor for the project in March last year.
The consultation closes on 19 January. You can learn more at anchor.consultationonline.co.uk.
I don’t understand why, this development would used in that manner when clearly there’s a shortage of homes across the country..
If you want equality it should you should house everybody without checking the sexuality preferences..
By Alfred
@Alfred it might be worth reading up on the matter before writing such comments
By Junior
@Junior
I think the majority of people in the country are in favour of equality, with people being treated with respect, dignity and fairness.
However, this sort of thing drives a wedge between people, ring fencing certain groups for special treatment whilst individuals outside of them suffer. Why should LGBTQI people be treated any differently to others? I’m sure if we looked, as I mentioned in my other post, at other groups of people they would potentially be far worse off than LGBTQI , yet they’re dismissed.
How about we build care homes for the elderly and not even consider their sexual orientation, their skin colour, their religion, their politics, their sex, their gender etc. Let’s just look after elderly people full stop.
In my honest opinion, the more we highlight our differences, the more tribal we become.
It really is mind boggling how people think this is progress. It’s exceptionally disappointing.
By The Squirrel's Nuts
‘How about we build care homes for the elderly and not even consider their sexual orientation, their skin colour, their religion, their politics, their sex, their gender etc. Let’s just look after elderly people full stop.’
We are! Unfortunately though, there are people who don’t feel safe in such environments, hence the need for such proposals.
I think everyone would agree that ideally such proposals wouldn’t be needed, but unfortunately that just isn’t the case.
By Hillsider