Embassy Village and £350m Park Place among glut of Manchester projects tipped for approval

A pair of 56-storey towers off Great Jackson Street, DeTrafford’s 230-home Phoenix Works, a quartet of schemes in Ancoats, and Embassy Village – a collaborative project designed to tackle homelessness – all feature on a mammoth planning agenda. 

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Park Place 

Credit: Hodder + Partners

Developer: Great Jackson Street Estates, controlled by Salford-based investor Aubrey Weis 

Architect: Hodder + Partners 

Planner: Deloitte Real Estate 

Park Place features 1,037 apartments across two 56-storey towers and is the latest scheme to come forward under Manchester’s Great Jackson Street masterplan.  

Great Jackson Street Estates owns the 1.4-acre plot G, fronting Mancunian Way and bounded to the east by Garwood Street within the growing Manchester neighbourhood, close to Deansgate. 

The site was originally earmarked for three towers of 27, 23, and 19 storeys respectively under architect SimpsonHaugh’s Great Jackson Street masterplan. 

Under the proposals for Park Place, drawn up by architect Hodder + Partners, existing industrial buildings on the plot would be demolished to make way for the two towers. 

The skyscrapers would feature a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.  

Great Jackson Street Estates consulted on a previous iteration of the project in 2019.  

At that time the scheme comprised two towers of 36 and 31 storeys, featuring 580 homes. 

However, before a planning application was submitted, a Victorian sewer system was discovered under the site, making the scheme undeliverable.  

The scaled-up 2021 version of the development proposes diverting the sewer, a one-year project that United Utilities has agreed to principle, according to the scheme’s lead architect, studio founder Stephen Hodder.  

The Great Jackson Street development area is dominated by Renaker, which has already delivered the four-tower Deansgate Square and is nearing completion of the 51-storey Elisabeth Tower.   

Renaker is also building a pair of 51-storey towers known as Blade and Circle off Crown Street. 

Phoenix Works 

Credit: Corstorphine & Wright Architects

Developer: De Trafford 

Architect: Matt Brook Architects

Planner: Paul Butler Associates 

Phoenix Works is the final phase of DeTrafford’s Manchester Gardens residential community, and comprises two apartment blocks of 13 and 11 storeys on the corner of Ellesmere Street. 

The smaller block would sit opposite Talbot Mill at 44 Ellesmere Street, which is being converted into 200 apartments by developer Capital & Centric. 

The taller of the two blocks would sit at the back of the site, currently occupied by a building called Phoenix House. 

Phoenix Works is to offer a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as two-bedroom duplex townhouses and two-bedroom duplex penthouses, together with 4,000 sq ft of flexible commercial space. 

The wider area known as Manchester Gardens, is intended to become an “urban village” on the edge of Hulme and Castlefield, DeTrafford’s chief executive Gary Jackson has said. 

Construction of other phases of Manchester Gardens – St George’s, City & Sky Gardens – is ongoing. Roof Gardens, built by the now-defunct contractor Pochins, completed in 2018. 

Downley Drive 

Credit: Buttress Architects

Developer: Great Places Housing Group 

Architect: Buttress Architects 

Planner: Deloitte Real Estate 

The 68-home Ancoats development on the corner of St Vincent Street and Woodward Place, comprises 23 houses and 45 apartments. 

The site was previously earmarked for redevelopment under the Miles Platting Private Finance Initiative, a scheme that has seen the creation of a 264-acre housing estate in East Manchester, but the plans were never progressed. 

Ancoats Mobility Hub 

Credit: Buttress Architects

Developer: Manchester Life, Manchester City Council, Great Places Housing Group 

Architect: Buttress Architects 

Planner: Deloitte Real Estate 

Located on land between Poland Street and Ancoats Green, the proposed mobility hub is an emerging concept of a shared car and cycle parking facility for residents and visitors, with electric vehicle charging outlets, and a last-mile delivery consolidation centre to reduce vehicle movements and street parking. 

Plans for the mobility hub have been developed in response to objectives set out in Manchester’s city centre transport strategy and wider climate change commitments. 

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese described the scheme as “transformational”, when plans were lodged last month. 

The council hopes that by the end of 2023, Ancoats Mobility Hub will operate as a shared facility to help the district grow as a ‘people first’ neighbourhood, with on-street parking removed and vehicle movements through the area reduced. 

The hub is to be located on land owned by the council, currently occupied by low-rise warehouse units adjacent to Ancoats Green. 

Ancoats Dispensary 

Credit: Buttress Architects

Developer: Great Places Housing Group 

Architect: Buttress Architects 

Planner: Deloitte Real Estate 

The keenly-awaited redevelopment of the grade two-listed Manchester building into a 39-apartment affordable housing scheme is also tipped for approval. 

Great Places Housing Group said that by incorporating elements of what remains of the original Old Mill Street building, it hopes to protect the dispensary’s heritage and legacy while bringing affordable homes to the area.  

Situated in an area that has become hugely popular with residential developers, the building dates back to 1874 but has deteriorated since being vacated in 1989, and currently requires scaffolding to hold up what remains of the existing structure. 

Great Places, in partnership with Manchester City Council and part-funded by Homes England, plans to redevelop what remains of the Dispensary for a mixture of 39 one and two-bed apartments which will be available for affordable rent. 

Eliza Yard 

Credit: Buttress Architects

Developer: Manchester Life – a joint venture between the city council and Manchester City FC owner and investor, Abu Dhabi United Group. 

Architect: Buttress Architects 

Planner: Deloitte Real Estate 

The eight-storey apartment block on the corner of Poland Street and Jersey Street is the fourth element of the next phase of regeneration of Ancoats and New Islington. 

The 118-home Eliza Yard is to be delivered by investor and developer Manchester Life, a joint venture between the city council and Manchester City FC owner and investor, Abu Dhabi United Group. 

As well as a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom flats, the development also features 5,800 sq ft of commercial space and a residents’ garden. 

The project team for Eliza Yard includes Planit-IE as the landscape architect, Buro Happold as the M&E consultant, Curtins as the structural engineer, project manager Mace, and transport consultant Hydrock.  

Turner & Townsend is the cost consultant, Sandy Brown is the acoustic consultant, the fire engineering consultant is Hoare Lea, and Counter Context is leading on consultation and engagement. 

Embassy Village  

Credit: Jon Matthews Architects

Architect: Jon Matthews Architects 

Planner: Deloitte Real Estate 

Local charity Embassy is working with developers Peel L&P and Capital & Centric to build 40 modular homes between the Bridgewater Canal and the River Irwell. 

The permanent structures would be made from repurposed shipping containers and provide secure housing for the city’s homeless people, the partnership said. If the plans are approved, construction work would start in late summer and the first units would be available from 2022. 

To be located underneath railway arches at the derelict Hulme site owned by Peel L&P, the project called Embassy Village would seek to create a housing-led community with lots of communal and green space, mini allotments to grow vegetables, and a multi-use sports area. 

The full project team, which provided its services to Embassy pro bono, comprises: 

Landowner – Peel L&P 

Development consultant – Capital & Centric 

Planner – Deloitte Real Estate 

Architect – Jon Matthews Architects 

Civil and Structural Engineer – Curtins 

Quantity Surveyors – Arcadis 

Transport Engineer – Curtins 

Mechanical and Electrical Engineer – Crookes Walker 

Fire Engineer – OFR 

Acoustic Engineer – Fisher Acoustics 

Landscape Architect – Planit-IE 

CDMC / PD – CDMC Services 

Building Control – Ball and Berry 

Sustainability – Element Sustainability 

Graphics – Our Studio 

Construction Logistics Support – Balfour Beatty