Manchester gives green light to almost 300 Wythenshawe social homes
Muse and Wythenshawe Community Housing Group have been granted permission for the first two residential projects within the £500m regeneration of the civic centre.
Manchester City Council has approved plans for the redevelopment of the sites of Brotherton House and C2 The Birtles into a combined 297 homes.
Brotherton House
The vacant former office building west of the civic centre will be knocked down. In its place two five-storey buildings containing 191 apartments for older people and people living with dementia will be constructed.
Twenty-five two- and four-bedroom townhouses would front Cornfield Drive.
C2 The Birtles
Situated next to the former market square, the scheme would see the retail and office space currently there replaced with 81 one- and two-bedroom apartments, alongside new ground floor retail space to complement the wider civic offering.
A third residential development, 125 apartments on the site of the now demolished Alpha House, is expected to be approved in the coming weeks.
All 422 homes proposed in the first wave of residential development will be available for social rent.
In all, the £500m regeneration plan for Wythenshawe could see 2,000 homes delivered. Plans for a food hall and culture hub are also in the works
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “300 social rent homes approved by planning, ready to start on site – with more than 100 more to be approved soon – is a real statement of what we want to do in Wythenshawe.
“The regeneration of Civic and the wider town centre is about creating a place local people can be proud of and can afford to live in. Wythenshawe is already a strong community – this investment is about making sure we can invest in this neighbourhood so that generations of Wythenshawe people have the chance to be part of this community in the decades to come.”
C2 The Birtles is an 81 apartment project . Credit: via FontComms
Joe Stockton, development director at Muse, said: “Central to our shared vision for Wythenshawe Town Centre is creating new homes that people want to live in and that they can afford.
“We have responded to public feedback and to market requirements to deliver a range of suitable homes for those in later life or living with long-term illnesses, all well as those who need to be close to Civic and the benefits that brings.”
Andrea Lowman, executive director of development at Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, said: “For us, this is about delivering the truly affordable homes local people have told us they need. Every one of these homes will be for social rent, giving more families, older residents and people with additional needs the opportunity to live well in the heart of Wythenshawe.
“As the local social housing provider, we are focused not just on building new homes but on creating sustainable communities and making sure this investment strengthens the town centre for existing and future residents alike.”
To view the plans for the Brotherton House site, search for reference number 144656/FO/2025 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal. For the C2 The Birtles scheme, search 144669/FO/2025.
Asteer Planning is advising on planning matters on both developments and Feilden Clegg Bradley is the architect. Planit is leading on landscape design and Shift PM is the project manager.
