Manchester unveils sites for fourth and fifth This City schemes

A site off Hyde Road in Belle Vue and another in Monsall are earmarked for at least 325 homes.

Manchester City Council’s housing delivery vehicle This City is nearing completion of its maiden scheme – the 129-home No1 Ancoats Green off Rodney Street – and has now approved an additional £5.1m to take another four schemes through to the planning submission stage.

Two of those projects – 130 homes on Postal Street in the Northern Quarter and 150 homes on Grey Mare Lane Estate – are already being worked up.

As This City looks to ramp up delivery, two further sites have been identified for housing, with at least 20% being affordable.

The housing vehicle is seeking feedback on its plans for 150 homes on plots off Hyde Road and Kirkmanshulme Lane adjacent to the Co-op Academy in Belle Vue, and 175 properties on land adjacent to Monsall Road and Upper Monsall Street, north of the Monsall Metrolink Stop.

Details on the consultation events can be found at the foot of this article. 

Following this initial public engagement, design work will be progressed ahead of further formal public consultation early 2025.

Planning applications for these two sites are expected later in 2025 with the aspiration to start on site before the end of the 2025 financial year, according to This City.

Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, said: “This City allows us to build directly on council-owned brownfield land on our own terms.

“Building the homes that our residents need, particularly sustainable and genuinely affordable homes, is challenging, but This City is giving us the opportunity to take control of our own home development and deliver the type of housing we know our city needs.”

This City is expected to announce an investment partner before the end of the year.

Adam White, chair of This City, said the announcement of the next sites marks the start of an exciting era for the company.

“Great progress is being made at No1 Ancoats Green and the first tenants will be welcomed to those homes next year, while at the same time we are beginning the crucial engagement work to understand the community context of the new sites, meet local people and get a feel for what those communities need from their housing.

“Importantly for us we have the key aims of This City at the heart of everything that we do – this means creating quality homes, including affordable housing, while bringing brownfield land back into use. The coming year will be a landmark 12 months for the company, bringing forward around 600 more homes, while setting the template for hundreds more in the coming years.”

• Hyde Road scheme – Tuesday 5 November between 3.30pm and 7pm  Longsight and District Sports and Social Club, 140 Kirkmanshulme Ln, Manchester M12 4WB
• Monsall scheme – Wednesday 6 November between 3.3pm and 7pm Dance Hall, Manchester Communication Academy Secondary School, 2 Silchester Dr, Manchester M40 8NT