Manchester preps CPO to enable Reno site’s rebirth

The city council’s executive will be asked to sign off the compulsory purchase of a single derelict residential property, opening up the development of 212 homes by Mosscare St Vincent’s.

Set to be rubber-stamped at executive of 16 September, the CPO would facilitate the regeneration of land between Moss Lane East, Princess Road, Barnhill Street and Raby Street as an affordable homes project with community space.

Social housing landlord and developer MSV has agreed to fully indemnify the local authority against all costs associated with the CPO, said the officer report.

The Barnhill Street site, just to the south of the Heineken brewery, was formerly home to the Reno nightclub, and is currently vacant.

MCC’s executive approved its disposal to MSV in January 2025 to facilitate the development of affordable homes. MSV is a long-standing partner of the city in Moss Side, managing more than 1,100 homes in the ward and supporting a range of community initiatives. It is also a key member of the Manchester Housing Providers Partnership.

As the officer report sets out: “The redevelopment responds to significant housing pressures in Moss Side, where population growth has outpaced housing delivery, affordability challenges have increased reliance on the private rented sector, and overcrowding remains a major issue.”

MSV has now secured planning permission for 212 affordable homes, including 128 social rent properties, with a mix of family housing and apartments for smaller households, older residents and key workers. A local lettings policy will prioritise local residents, with Manchester City Council retaining nomination rights in perpetuity.

Alongside the housing proposals, MSV has worked with Manchester City Council and the West Indian Sports & Social Club to support the club’s long term sustainability.

The building subject of the CPO – 119 and 119a Raby Street – is an end terrace described as dilapidated and unsafe, with little or no prospect of being maed habitable again. MSV has now assembled all other necessary land, but this remains a sticking point, with no agreement reached with the registered owner. Photographs included in the report show severe damage.

MSV’s approval, secured by advisor Nexus Planning in November last year, gives it the right to develop six residential blocks with a total of 212 flats. This will include a 10-storey block with 86 flats, four buildings of five to six storeys with 119 flats, and seven three-storey townhouses. MCAU is the architect, with n MCC planning portal reference number of 143777/FO/2025.

MSV remains busy across Greater Manchester. The provider was named in June as the partner of Bellway, taking on half the homes in the 244-stong redevelopment of Gatley Golf Course. Early in 2025, MSV’s 70-home proposal in Cheetham Hill, a scheme straddling two parcels of land, was approved.