Go-ahead for Manchester bank-to-PBSA conversion
Soller Group has been granted permission to redevelop a vacant bank into a purpose-built student accommodation scheme on Oxford Road.
Soller Group, which is hoping to secure approval for a 120,000 sq ft office elsewhere in the city later this week, wants to overhaul the former Barclays Bank on the corner of Oxford Road and Grosvenor Street into 20 student flats.
The four-storey modernist building has been boarded up since 2015 and will be retained and extended upwards by a single floor under Soller’s plans.
Overall, the project will provide 20 flats within Manchester’s university district, as well as 3,000 sq ft of ground floor commercial space.
Define Architects is leading on design and Ashton Hale is advising on planning. To learn more, search for reference number 140735/FO/2024 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Soller has previously secured consent for several different iterations of the scheme including converting the building into studio apartments.
Manchester City Council’s planning team said the building is in “advanced disrepair” and “detracts from the street scene”.
Nicest pre-fab prison block I’ve ever seen.
By Anonymous
Wonderfully informed desigb critique from anon 8.37……….I’m sure we all feel better to know the world could be better. This is essentially a change of use………get a grip for goodness sake
By Anonymous
It’s change of use but they are still changing the look and shape, are they not?
By Anonymous
Take a look at what is there……….understand the constraints…………look at some meaningful images (ie not the one in the article) and then judge whether this is successful or not within the context of this being a very modest proposal
By Anonymous
Could have been social homes not more student flats…
By Andy wigley
There are enough council homes already all over Manchester, too many in fact
By Anonymous
And who would fund that Andy…….any idea? No? Of course you haven’t…….
By Anonymous