Manchester, Salford link up for 320-acre Strangeways regeneration
The city councils have started the search for a team to map out the future of the maligned district and neighbouring Cambridge area of Salford, while pleas for the prison to be relocated continue to fall on deaf ears.
A joint approach
Manchester City Council and colleagues over the border in Salford will work together to transform Strangeways and Cambridge – which is largely industrial and at high risk of flooding – into a “safe, welcoming, and attractive community, befitting of the city centre fringe location”, according to a Manchester City Council spokesperson.
A team to draw up a strategic regeneration framework for the 321-acre site is expected to be appointed by autumn.
Interested parties should submit proposals via the Crown Commercial Service e-Sourcing portal by 11.00 am on 31 July 2023.
The commission would comprise three parts: an economic analysis of the areas, the SRF itself, and a delivery and acquisitions strategy.
The proposals are due to be submitted to the authorities’ respective executive committees before the end of the year.
The SRF would be “aspirational” and guide investment in the area over the next two decades, the Manchester City Council spokesperson said.
“The Strangeways area is a key gateway into our city centre and a location with the potential to deliver significant employment opportunities, alongside a range of other uses including new homes and commercial space – supporting existing legitimate businesses to grow and prosper, while providing space for new business to invest in the area.”
A barrier to growth
Manchester City Council admits the area is “not without challenges”, the largest being the location of HMP Manchester, formerly known as Strangeways Prison.
The prison has long been thought of as a barrier to the area’s growth and Manchester City Council has asked the Ministry of Justice to relocate it elsewhere.
The Manchester City Council spokesperson said: “The council has started conversations with the Ministry of Justice around the long-term future of HMP Manchester with a clear message that the Victoria-era prison is a barrier to growth in North Manchester.”
Moving the prison out of Strangeways would free up a large chunk of land off Great Ducie Street and pave the way for the wholesale redevelopment of the crime-blighted area into a new commercial district.
However, the Ministry of Justice told Place North West that there are “no current plans to relocate HMP Manchester”, despite the city council’s requests.
Due to a lack of movement on the relocation plans, the SRF will be drawn up “based on the current Strangeways neighbourhood, including the prison in situ”, the city council spokesperson said.
The SRF could be updated to respond to any decision made by the MoJ about the future of the prison, the spokesperson added.
The location of the prison is not the only issue Manchester City Council is facing in Strangeways.
The area off Great Ducie Street around HMP Manchester has suffered from serious issues relating to crime for several years, including the trade of counterfeit goods.
An ongoing Greater Manchester Police operation to clean up the area has yielded positive results so far, with 72 illegal enterprises shut down and 75 individuals arrested.
Salford’s opportunity
Progress in addressing the crime-related problems around Strangeways means that attention can now turn to plotting the area’s transformation.
The cross-border approach to reinventing the area also provides Salford City Council with the chance to “address longstanding environmental issues” related to the Cambridge area’s high risk of flooding.
Tender documents for the SRF opportunity state that demand for new homes and commercial space in the area is high due to its fringe city centre location.
However, at present the risk of flooding “has an impact on the existing homes and businesses as well as constraining future redevelopment”.
“This [SRF] offers real opportunities to provide a future sustainable plan that reflects the location in an area of growth for Greater Manchester,” a Salford City Council spokesperson said.
“The aspiration is to address the challenges and together the two authorities can create an attractive place to do business or live.”
The surrounding context
A strategic regeneration framework for the adjacent Great Ducie Street zone already exists and was adopted by Manchester City Council in 2018.
This framework, which outlines plans for 2.8m sq ft of commercial space, did not incorporate the prison site, while the refreshed SRF will.
Several major projects have come forward off the back of the Great Ducie Street masterplan.
The Manchester College’s £93m city centre campus on the former Boddington’s Brewery recently completed, Latimer is preparing to start construction of a 461-home development on an adjoining plot, and Salboy picked up the stalled Old Brewery Gardens development late last year.
