May start for phase two of Manchester Waters 

Contractor Vermont is preparing to start building the first of three blocks that make up the next chunk of X1 Development’s 742-apartment scheme on Pomona Island. 

Construction of X1’s 14-storey Block C, which comprises 190 apartments, is due to start in May and complete in August 2023, according to a construction management plan submitted to Trafford Council. 

Blocks D and E, at 16 and 18 storeys respectively, will follow at a later date. 

In total, phase two of Manchester Waters is to deliver 526 one- two- and three-bedroom apartments. 

Meanwhile, the first phase of the project is close to completion. Work on Block A, comprising 75 apartments, concluded last summer while Block B, which features 140 flats apartments, is nearing practical completion. 

The scheme is designed by Liverpool-based architect Falconer Chester Hall and falls within the wider Pomona Island masterplan, which is in the process of being drawn up by Peel L&P. 

The developer intends to publish a masterplan for the 26-acre site, drawn up by Jon Matthews Architects and planning consultancy Turley, for consultation later this year. Exterior Architecture is working to develop the public realm proposals. 

Pomona Island, which Peel has rebranded as Manchester Waters, is a swathe of land that sits between the Bridgewater Canal and the Manchester Ship Canal west of the city centre, straddling Trafford, Salford and Manchester local authority areas.  

The masterplan for the site is being drawn up to map out the regeneration of undeveloped land to create a 2,500-home mixed-use scheme. Up to 11 acres of public realm, as well as improvements to canal paths linking the site to MediaCityUK and Manchester city centre, are also proposed.