Final sign-off nears for Crescent masterplan

Salford City Council has approved the regeneration framework for the 250-acre site, and developer English Cities Fund will soon be compelled to submit a business plan for the first component within the next six months.

A consultation on the £2.5bn Salford Crescent masterplan took place last autumn, proposing revisions such as the construction of a Metrolink extension connecting the area with Salford Quays.

The updated framework has since incorporated such changes, splitting the 20-year development site into six key areas – The Adelphi, Peel Park, Crescent, Innovation Zone, Transport Hub and Parks & River Zone.

Salford City Council’s approval this week of the so-called Crescent Strategic Master Programme and Delivery Plan means an overarching agreement signed between the council and its development partner ECF takes effect and becomes unconditional. However, the framework requires sign-off by each individual partner in the Crescent Partnership, which comprises the council, ECF and the University of Salford.

Once the other parties have granted their approval, ECF – a consortium comprising Homes England, Legal & General and Muse Developments – will be provided with the legal certainty required to begin planning development of the sites in detail, according to council documents produced ahead of Salford’s approval meeting this week.

In particular, business plans for the various sites across the Crescent area must be submitted to and approved by the Crescent Partnership, the documents state. The first business case must be submitted within six months from the approval of the framework.

A spokesperson for ECF on behalf of the Crescent partnership said: “Salford City Council approved the Crescent strategic master programme and delivery plan on Monday 26 April.

“All partners have a sign-off process that they are currently working through. Once these have concluded over the coming weeks, we will provide a full statement [of intent].”

In an interview with Place North West this week, Salford City Council’s new chief executive Tom Stannard, who took up the reins in February, described the Crescent project as “phenomenal”.

“It could be one of Greater Manchester’s signature schemes in the medium term,” he said.