Manchester’s debut This City project up for approval
A 128-home scheme on Rodney Street in Ancoats is the first to be delivered by the city council’s in-house housing vehicle. Meanwhile, Southway Housing Trust’s Chorlton Irish Club development is also tipped to progress at next week’s planning committee meeting.
Rodney Street
Buttress is designing the project. Credit: via planning documents
Developer: This City – Manchester City Council’s housing delivery vehicle
Architect: Buttress
Planner: Avison Young
Planning reference: 134154/VO/2022
Manchester City Council formed This City earlier this year with the aim of delivering 500 homes annually to support the authority’s target of 36,000 new homes in the next decade.
The Rodney Street project is This City’s first and will provide a mix of properties ranging from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom townhouses.
The 118 apartments will be delivered across two blocks of eight and five storeys and will be built alongside 10 three-storey townhouses.
The proposals feature 27 one-bedroom apartments and 91 with two bedrooms. Eight of the townhouses will have three bedrooms and there will be two properties with four bedrooms.
Around 30% of the homes will be available at the Manchester Living Rent.
This means that the rents for these homes will be set at or below the Local Housing Allowance level – as set by central government – and so will be accessible to people on full housing benefit, according to the city council.
Manchester City Council planning officers have recommended the scheme be approved.
Chorlton Irish Club
All of the homes would be available for shared ownership. Credit: via planning documents
Developer: Southway Housing Trust
Architect: View Associates
Planner: Iceni Projects
Planning reference: 132708/FO/2022
Southway wants to build 29 apartments on the club’s car park, all of which would be available for shared ownership.
The housing association is working with architect View Associates and planner Iceni Projects to progress the residential scheme.
Southway acquired the site following a lengthy and often bitter sales process that pitted the Irish club’s trustees against its members.
In 2020, club trustees instructed Colliers to market the site for sale. The High Lane plot was advertised as a “prime redevelopment opportunity”.
Throughout the sales process, the campaign group Friends of Chorlton Irish Club complained of being kept in the dark by the trustees and voiced their concerns about the future of the venue.
At one point during the sales process, Friends of Chorlton Irish Club agreed a deal with Hillcrest Homes that would see the developer purchase the site to build houses, while retaining the club as part of the project.
While that deal never materialised, Southway’s acquisition proposed similar terms, including the retention of the Irish club.
Manchester City Council planning officers have recommended the scheme be approved.
With the right fenestration that scheme could look alright. As it stands, it’s a really poor entry into the market for MCC.
By Observer
Agreed. Public sector led housing projects can and should aim to better the usually low bar set by most private sector housing projects.
Small windows and lack of balconies, in contravention of MCC’s own Residential Design Quality guidelines is a poor, if unsurprising effort from MCC.
By Balcony watch
Rodney Street feels very Miles Platting to me? They call some of Whalley Range upper Chorlton too, and for the very same reasons.
By Anonymous
mediocre attempt by MCC – uninspiring paces to live in all accounts
By meh
Rodney St – just a few slabs randomly assembled on a landscaped area. When are MCC going to hire some proper urban planners so we can have active surveillance, eyes on street, perimeter blocks, street walls, enclosure ratios, active frontage etc – the basics – instilled into Manchester’s developments?
By Anonymous
Don’t use your feelings to asses where an area is just use a map. Rodney Street is quite definitely Ancoats. Miles Platting isn’t far away if you cross Butler Street on to Mellor Street you will be in Miles Platting.
By Dave
Have you looked at the rest of Ancoats anonymous 9-45?
By Notagainagian