Henderson prepares to start Ancoats retail revamp

Henderson Global Investors, on behalf of its £1bn Retail Warehouse Fund, has received detailed planning permission to redevelop Central Retail Park on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester. The fund will spend £40m on the 210,000 sq ft scheme.

Central Retail Park on Great Ancoats Street is an established retail park on the edge of the city centre.

The application will see the demolition of the retail units on the eastern part of the site, making way for a new 90,000 sq ft supermarket, cinema and smaller retail units with undercroft car parking. The scheme will also refurbish and upgrade four retained retail units.

The scheme includes a new pedestrian link at the heart of the development, linking the new foodstore and the retained retail units. This link will provide access and improve permeability from Great Ancoats Street to Cotton Fields Park in New Islington and the neighbourhoods beyond.

Sainsbury's has been linked with the foodstore opportunity in the past but no operator has been confirmed to date.

Henderson's project team included planning and urban design consultant, Turley Associates, and Hadfield Cawkwell Davidson as masterplanners and architects.

Katherine Friend, head of asset management, Retail Warehousing at Henderson, said: "The redevelopment at Central Retail Park will crucially expand our tenant mix in the centre, benefitting both its retailers and consumers alike.

"In this new age of retailing, bricks & mortar is increasingly required to offer a first class retail experience. It's our job as landlords to work hard to create retail destinations which provide the ultimate customer service and a retail and leisure offer that cannot be replicated digitally."

CBRE and Sweett Group are the retained agents.

Work on the site is expected to begin on site later in the year.