Green light for 1,000 Salford apartments 

Two towers at the £1bn Middlewood Locks development and a 17-storey block in Ordsall being delivered by Property Alliance Group and Forshaw Land & Property have been approved. 

Middlewood Locks 

The plans include two towers of 32 and 28 storeys. Credit: via SGI

Developer: Fairbrair Developments – a joint venture in which Scarborough International Properties holds a 50% stake, with Metro Holdings of Singapore and Hualing Group of China controlling 25% each 

Architect: Whittam Cox 

Planner: Zerum  

The next phase of the Salford development is split into two parts. The first element features two towers of 32 and 28 storeys comprising 659 apartments. 

The second part will provide an additional 250 flats, to be delivered within an L-shaped block rising to 15 storeys.  

Salford City Council has approved both applications. 

Overall, the two projects will see 909 homes delivered. Of these, 73 will have three bedrooms, 430 will have two bedrooms, and the remaining 408 will be one-bedroom properties. 

As well as homes, the two developments feature around 22,000 sq ft of commercial space.  

The schemes will be built on a 10-acre plot that connects the existing community at Middlewood Locks, comprising 1,116 homes, through to the Ordsall Chord railway arches to Manchester city centre.  

Paul Kelly, development director at Scarborough, said: “The journey over the last six years has not only created a thriving new neighbourhood with over 1,200 residents in occupation but also delivered considerable economic returns to the region. 

“These next phases will complete the missing link, connecting Middlewood Locks with a seamless transition to the bustle of Manchester city centre, offering a tranquil new place to live and work that is both sustainable and convenient.” 

Last year, Scarborough also sought to refresh the outline consent for Middlewood Locks in order to deliver around 500,000 sq ft of workspace and another 1,000 new homes.     

A 25-storey hotel and 10-storey multistorey car park also form a part of the masterplan alongside further public realm including a canal-side park.   

Phase three, the 189-home Railings, has consent and is due to start on site soon with BCEGI to continue as contractor.    

City View 

Jon Matthews Architects designed the project. Credit: North Made Studio

Developer: Forshaw Land & Property and Property Alliance Group 

Architect: Jon Matthews Architects 

Planner: Lichfields 

Bolton-based Forshaw is developing the 17-storey City View in partnership with Property Alliance Group, a project that has been in the pipeline for five years.  

The Derwent Street development has gone through a series of iterations since it was first revealed in 2017. 

Back then, the scheme reached 27 storeys and featured 183 apartments.  

Those plans, designed by DLA Architecture, were scaled back to 21 storeys in 2018 before being approved but work did not start on site.  

Two years later, Forshaw drafted in Jon Matthews Architects to refresh the designs. This saw the project scaled back to 14 storeys and 130 apartments.  

A fourth iteration, featuring 160 apartments across 17 storeys, came to light last summer as PAG came on board. Salford City Council has recommended this project be approved when its planning committee meets next week. 

Contractor Domis is lined up to build the scheme. Renaissance is the structural engineer and TPM Landscape is the landscape architect.