Manchester approves brick replacement for gold Store Street tower
Merebridge Construction has secured planning consent for a 16-storey building featuring 73 apartments close to Piccadilly station.
Liverpool-based Merebridge, headed up by Russell and Jane Schwarze, lodged plans for the Store Street scheme late last year after a proposal from M1 Piccadilly, part of Faizal Atcha’s LW Group conglomerate, for a gold residential block did not progress.
Merebridge’s scheme is taller by one storey than its gold predecessor and has 19 more flats. The biggest difference between the two projects is a change from a gold anodised facade to a brick-led system, “which offers a more contextual and robust architectural character”, according to planning documents.
The updated proposals also reduce the size of some “overly large apartments”, allowing for more units, according to a planning statement prepared by Nexus Planning.
Four Architects is leading on the design of the revised proposals.
To learn more about the project, search for reference number 144771/FO/2025 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
‘overly large apartments’. . Heaven forbid someone should have a good amount of space to live in
By Clouded Leopard
I’d prefer an ‘overlarge’ apartment to the many shoeboxes I’ve been shown.
By Tony Heyes
Another brutal development Another eyesore for buy to lets. Another overload on local infrastructure. Not a local development for local people.
By Roberta Upton
June, this is a city centre. Most city centres comprise of large buildings. What were you expecting here? An English cottage?
Thank heavens you weren’t in charge of New York or Paris
By Voice of progress
Overly large apartment, said no one looking for or living in an apartment
By GetItBuilt!
most flats are pokey so this reads as developer greed. shame.
By overly small
June, you are correct. The Great Transformation, as Polanyi called it, the urbanization and industrialization of cities, Manchester is the “ideal type” was a catastrophy of non-human-scale; we should be de-urbanizing. Why do folk who can afford it, live with their families in leafy suburbs or the country-side? Because they are not daft, that is why. Only rootless community-less students and loner live in big cities.
By Anonymous