Manchester ends 2015 with big scheme consents
Councillors approved several significant schemes across the city at a packed planning meeting, including a £70m office on Deansgate, the £175m redevelopment of the University of Manchester’s Owens Park campus and the latest Manchester Life residential project in Ancoats.
Eight major projects were signed-off by the council at the meeting which took place in the afternoon of Thursday 10 December.
In Deansgate, Worthington Properties will deliver a £70m scheme to replace two interlinked buildings at 123-127 Deansgate vacated by Pannone with a 113,500 sq ft office and 12,100 sq ft of retail. The block was designed by Glenn Howells Architects, Deloitte advised on planning.
At Fallowfield, the University of Manchester’s £175m Owens Park campus redevelopment was approved, which includes the demolition and rebuilding of the 2,200 bedrooms currently available and the provision of a further 800 bedrooms. The project is the latest phase in a £1.8bn investment programme in new facilities by the university across Manchester and is funded by Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Company.
Manchester Life’s fourth scheme was designed by Studio Egret West
In Hulme, a part-four, five, six, seven and nine-storey building made up of 277 flats for the private rented sector on Coupland Street was signed off. The developer is London-based Naava, the scheme was designed by Hodder & Partners. Local objectors said that the project would be targeted at students, however Naava confirmed that the flats would be for private tenants.
The fourth scheme from the Manchester Life Development Company in the north of the city was approved, with a part-seven and part-eight-storey building including 158 apartments and ground floor commercial units on Jersey Street and Hood Street in Ancoats. The architect is Studio Egret West. Manchester Life is also bringing forward a planning application for 31 homes at a nearby site on Hood Street.
Manchester Life Development Company is the residential property development company owned by Manchester City Council and Abu Dhabi United Group, which is driving the redevelopment of Ancoats and New Islington.
Also approved was a 101-apartment scheme across three buildings in Old Mill Street by ISIS Waterside Regeneration Partnership, which was deferred from a November planning meeting to allow for a site visit. The project is part of the third phase of development at New Islington. The site is currently used as a temporary car park and is owned by Manchester City Council. JM Architects designed the project, Deloitte advised on planning.
Residents occupying the second phase of the scheme objected to the plans on the ground that the new buildings were larger and denser than previously proposed, and that access problems had been caused by waste disposal units.
All apartments in X1 the Plaza have been bought by private investors
On Great Ancoats Street, X1 Developments’ £32m X1 The Plaza was granted planning consent. Made up of 196 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, in addition to seven three-bedroom townhouses, the scheme will begin construction in January 2016, with completion expected in autumn 2017.
Amenities within the 152,573 sq ft block include secure bicycle storage, an on-site gym and private parking. Externally, residents will have a private landscaped courtyard, winter gardens, private balconies and garden terraces.
All of the apartments have already been sold to private investors.
The construction of 79 two- and three-storey homes by the University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Trust on part of its Withington Hospital estate was given the green light, subject to an agreement that 20% of the homes are made available to first time buyers. The land is surplus of requirements for the Trust, and will be sold now that planning permission has been granted.
In Wythenshawe, a total of 70 homes, in a mix of houses and apartments, by Wythenshawe Community Housing Group were approved. The homes on Heyland Road were designed by BYA Architects.
