Funding agreed for Northern Gateway first phase
Manchester City Council has secured £51.6m from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund to develop more than 5,500 homes at the site north of Victoria train station over the next decade.
The funding bid, led by the council and supported by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, will enable the first stage of development, totalling 50 acres, of the £1bn, 383-acre Northern Gateway project, a joint venture between the council and developer Far East Consortium. The project is part of a masterplan designed by architect Farrells.
The investment will also help develop an initial phase of the planned City River Park project, which involves delivering public open space on a site incorporating the existing St Catherine’s Wood, Manchester City Council said.
Other parts of the scheme include works to improve flood resilience on land along the River Irk, and “unlocking the potential of the Irk Valley to support the wider Northern Gateway project”, the council added.
Improvements to the land around the Irk River form part of the development
FEC and Manchester City Council intend to submit a planning application in July for the first-phase residential schemes of the Northern Gateway, in Collyhurst Village and South Collyhurst. Overall, 330 houses will be built on the site, 130 of which are to be council houses.
Buttress is the architect on the scheme.
The joint venture outlined more details on the first phase at the beginning of February, including schemes at Angelgate and Addington Street comprising more than 1,000 homes.
In total, the Northern Gateway site could hold up to 15,000 homes over the next 20 years, 3,000 of which are intended to be affordable.
The project will connect seven emerging neighbourhoods with green spaces and public squares.
Cllr Suzanne Richards, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration, said: “Confirmation that we have been successful in our bid for Housing Investment Funding is incredibly welcome.
“This will mean we can overcome a number of major infrastructure hurdles that currently limit the development opportunities in the Northern Gateway area, and will unlock land for new housing, including a significant number of affordable homes.
Tom Fenton, project director at FEC, added: “This announcement is the perfect catalyst to unlock momentum and become the basis for further strategic investment. This is a real vote of confidence for the project and we can’t wait to get started.”
Click any image to enlarge and launch gallery
- Victoria North could follow the Hulme regeneration blueprint. Credit: via planning documents
- FEC wants to build 330 homes in Collyhurst which could see Anne lose her home
- Collyhurst Park
- Smedley Dip development by the river
- Collyhurst is one of the areas being redeveloped under the Northern Gateway proposals
