Manchester to approve 1,700 homes, 625,000 sq ft of workspace
Next week’s bumper planning committee agenda features affordable homes in Moss Side, towers on Great Ancoats Street, the regeneration of a suburban retail complex, and a pair of office blocks.
If approved in line with officer recommendation, more than 1,700 homes would be delivered across four schemes from PJ Livesey, MSV, Liquid Funding Business, and Kellen Homes with Great Places Housing Group.
The first new-build element of Bruntwood SciTech’s Sister masterplan – the redevelopment of the University of Manchester’s former UMIST campus – is also up for consent.
Sister plot C
The buildings rise to 12 and 20 storeys. Credit: via Citypress
Developer: Bruntwood SciTech
Architect: Allies and Morrison
Planner: Deloitte
Proposals for the first new-build phase of Sister, the redevelopment of the University of Manchester’s former UMIST campus, were lodged with the city council in May.
Bruntwood SciTech, working in partnership with the university, plans to demolish a series of buildings at the campus and build two connected blocks rising to 12 and 20 storeys located between London Road and Altrincham Street.
Combined, the buildings will offer 585,000 sq ft of office space as well as supporting amenity and commercial space. One of the most important elements of the scheme is the so-called Collision Engine – a space designed to facilitate chance meetings and drive innovation in line with the vision for Sister to be a “human collider”, which is set out in the strategic regeneration framework.
SLA, Arcadis, Civic, Tyler Grange, Civic Earth, Buro Happold, Our Studio, Altfire, and Layer Studio make up the project team.
Read more about the scheme or search for reference number 143024/FO/2025 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Stocktons Furniture site
Credit: via planning documents
Developer: Liquid Funding Business
Architect: SimpsonHaugh
Planner: Turley
Serial entrepreneur Daniel Green submitted plans to develop a 50-storey building and another rising to 26 storeys on the Stocktons Furniture site off Great Ancoats Street in April.
As well as two residential towers comprising 758 apartments, the scheme features plans for 45,000 sq ft of commercial space. Around 55% of the four-acre site is earmarked for public realm.
The project has a gross development value of £241m, according to a viability appraisal by Tim Claxton Property.
Re-form Landscape Architecture is designing the public realm and Renaissance is the civil and structural engineer.
To learn more, search for reference number 142535/FO/2025 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Former Reno nightclub
The scheme will be 100% affordable. Credit: via planning docs
Developer: MSV
Architect: MCAU
Planner: Nexus
The site of the former Reno nightclub will be redeveloped into a mix of houses and apartments by Mosscare St Vincents Housing Group and landowner Manchester City Council.
MSV submitted an application to Manchester City Council for 212 affordable homes on the vacant two-acre site on the corner of Princess Road and Moss Lane East, opposite the Heineken factory, in August.
The development would feature six elements; five apartment blocks with the tallest fronting the junction rising to 10 storeys, and a row of seven townhouses.
A mix of one- to five-bedroom homes would be developed, including some specifically for over-55s.
To learn more, search for reference number 143777/FO/2025 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Riverpark Trading Estate
An earlier iteration proposed 777 homes. Credit: via Dragon Hill Communications
Developer: Kellen Homes and Great Places Housing Group
Architect: AEW Architects
Planner: Euan Kellie Property Solutions
Having consulted on a vision for 777 homes on the former Riverpark Trading Estate in East Manchester last year, Kellen Homes and Great Places Housing are seeking consent for a scaled back project featuring 498 units next week.
The developers said the reduction in units and height of some of the proposed buildings was in response to community feedback.
The earlier iteration of the scheme proposed buildings of up to 19 storeys. The project lodged for planning reaches six storeys at its tallest point.
By removing high risk buildings – those with at least seven storeys – the scheme can expect swifter progress to a start on site as it will not have to pass through gateway 2 of the Building Safety Act, which is currently delaying projects nationally.
The scheme features plans for 277 one- and two-bed homes and the erection of 221 two- and three-storey houses, comprising a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes.
Kellen acquired the 18-acre former abattoir from Realty Estates last year.
To learn more, search for reference number 142464/FO/2025 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Chorlton Square
Credit: via planning documents
Developer: PJ Livesey
Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley
Planner: CBRE
In June, PJ Livesey lodged plans to redevelop Chorlton Cross Shopping Centre into 262 homes.
The developer, working with landowner GMPF, would knock down the defunct retail scheme to pave the way for a mix of homes across 10-, eight-, six-, and four-storey blocks.
The Chorlton Square development would provide 56 one-, 135 two-, and 15 three-bedroom apartments at market rates.
Southway Housing Trust has agreed to operate 49 affordable units, to be defined as social rent, split across 16 one-bed and 33 two-bed flats. The affordable units would require funding from Homes England to materialise, which has been requested.
The project team includes Randall Thorp, Civic Engineers, Futureserv, Artec Fire, Vista Consulting, and LTL Property.
To view the application, use the planning reference 142652/FO/2025 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Excuse me what… Affordable homes in Moss Side, Erm ….No chance
By G J Kitchener
Travesty of a design for Stockton’s. Should be rejected on aesthetic appeal alone.
By Fig
With the exception of Viadux Two, Simpson-Haugh continues to churn out awful designs.
But I digress. Overall, this is an exciting pipeline of new additions to Manchester.
By Andee
The opposition to Chorlton Cross has been quite visible locally and virtually. I hope common sense wins, it’s a project many other suburban areas would kill for.
By Anonymous
Another painfully drab block (to join the growing roster of painfully drab blocks) on that stretch of road. Will we ever see an end to mis-aligned windows?
By Anonymous
Manchester is probably the most ambitious city in Europe. Everytime I come on here either its a 50 story skyscraper or record number of new homes approved. No consultations or second rate councillors objecting just ambition every single day.
By Mark
Manchester just a juggernaut at this point.
By Anonymous
Where did that 55 story tower in the sister development go?
By Giant skyscraper fan
Reducing the height of tower blocks at design stage because of the Building Safety Regulators interpretation of the Act will unfortunatly become the norm. The Government need to get a grip of the Building Safety Regulator who are in my view overstepping their brief.
By Anonymous
Fantastic – a proper Planning Service (unlike others in Greater Manchester)
By Anonymous
Manchester is built on cottonopolis built because the geography makes it a sweat box.. being up high is great if I have a window for airflow.. on the ground in the narrow Victorian streets it’s dire and more building more vehicles more people is only going to make it worse.. it already reeks in the summer and the drains weren’t built for this .. the country is already dumping seven shades of it in the water.. and there’s no investment… cholera anyone
By Anonymous
The Stocktons design is vile. Almost as bad as its neighbour Oxygen Tower
By Steve
Remo ans Chorlton sites are great. Sister and SimpsonHaugh proposals are f’ugly.
By Anonymous
Manchester is the reason I am a YIMBY. Give me economic growth, jobs and people moving here in droves. Meanwhile in my hometown Liverpool people prefer bungalows and being an irrelevant backwater. There is a reason even a Labour Government ignores Liverpool.
By Brian
Don’t get the hate for the Stocktons tower. People moan about glass rectangles going up and then moan when we get something different.
By Bob
Back of the net!
By Alan partridge
I will be sad to see the barn structure which is Atocktons bulldozed. It probably isn’t worth saving but it isn’t without architectural merit and could have been incorporated into that streetscape. Great Ancoats is a mess. There are some decent buildings but no real cohesion between the new and old.
By Elephant
I don’t kind of don’t mind this latest Simpso n Haugh design – makes a change from some of their dull stuff. But why the obsession with grey, grey, grey? Manchester is a vibrant city but SH don’t seem to get it. Sad that Stockton’s will go; there are a couple of very handsome bits which would be amazing if incorporated but no, looks like the whole lot will go which is very sad. (Agree with you Big Fig!). – Oh and to Anon and the smells? The city centre once had thousands of residents before the depopulation to suburbs… it coped then sewer-wise, so why not now?
By FINE but Oh
I guess just an observation, with dual staircase and the BSR kicking in above 6 stories we are maybe going see more of these pragmatic moves to cut height. That said, as developments are now starting to push out beyond the ring road is this the appropriate density for a location like this.
By Rich X
Would that not be 625,000sqft of work space if the Stocktons site is including 45,000sqft
By Andrew
Very good point. Change made. Thank you.
By Dan Whelan
Seriously don’t understand the hate for Simpson Haugh designs. Each building has it’s own characteristic and i think the Stocktons furniture site design is definitely up there! Kudos to Daniel Green
By David
Chorlton is going to Chorlton. People here only care about traffic and pulling up the ladder for others. Never mind the fact they park three cars on the street and sit outsdie the school for an hour with the engine idling.
By MainRoadMary
@Giant skyscraper fan
Loads more dev to happen there
By Anonymous
I nearly get sick in my mouth every time I pass Pxygen. I’ll deffo need a sick bag in the car once that monstrosity stands next to it.
By Tom
Small mistake but the Moss Side site is on Princess Road not Princess Street.
By Almoravid
Stockton’s will hide Oxygen, thankfully. But what will hide Stockton’s. Both towers are dreadful.
By Jrb
As long as you’re improve the basic infrastructure water and sewage roads and new parkland a new inner ring Road for buses, et cetera
By John Maamoun
I hate Oxygen and individually I don’t like Stocktons however I think that they may compliment each other, possibly in an interesting and almost brutalist way?! It will look very sci-fi anyway.
By Anonymous
Collision Engine – lol! What’s that, a bar?
By WayFay
November 14, 2025 at 11:56 am By John Maamoun
But they’re not.. new big pipe under the building.. that feeds into old pipe.. the whole network is a mush mash.. and the only change to roads is new. Tarmac on poor gravel speed bumps and crazy dangetous cycle lanes
By Anonymous
I agree with Bob, I quite like the Stocktons tower design.
By Anonymous
The Stocktons tower seems to divide opinion and I have to say from the various drawings I’ve seen it does depend on which side you look at it. Overall I like it though.
By Anonymous
Stockton’s looks good in a lot of images, especially on other news sites. Just depends on which pictures you see. These close up cgi’s don’t do it justice. You can just tell it will be one of those unique buildings people talk about for years.
By Anonymous