Northerngroup and Kompany propose 75-apartment Ancoats scheme

M4nchester Two, a vehicle headed by developer Nathan Ezair and Manchester City club captain Vincent Kompany, has lodged plans for a mixed-use development at Bengal Street, Ancoats.

The project, designed by Mecanoo, involves the demolition of a 1950s-built former electrical works, currently occupied by radio station Unity, on a site bound by Bengal Street, Primrose Street, Radium Street and Silk Street.

The proposed nine-storey building will have 24,306 sq ft of office space on the ground, first and second floors and 75 flats above – 23 one-bedroom apartments, 47 two-bed and five three-bed.

The proposals include a rooftop terrace for all residents, plus a residents’ room at ground floor level. There will be 17 basement car parking spaces and 100 cycle spaces.

Ezair, listed with Companies House along with Kompany as the two directors of M4nchester Two, is director of northerngroup, an experienced developer with a track record of delivery in Ancoats of both new build and conversion, having completed projects including the Ice Plant, Flint Glass Wharf and Jactin House.

The thinking is that the commercial space at Bengal Street will be delivered in a similar way to that at Jactin House, with a “communal” feel, with a possibility that the company’s co-working arm Colony will take some of the space.

Ezair told Place North West: “We’re conscious that Ancoats has started to become dominated by residential, and we think it’s important to get some active day-time uses into buildings.”

The application has been filed by planning advisor Cushman & Wakefield. The project team includes Turner & Townsend as project manager and cost consultant, Curtins as structural engineer, Beechfield as M&E engineer, Hoare Lea as fire consultant and Stephen Levrant Architecture as heritage consultant.

Northerngroup intends to own and manage the building and said in documents filed in the application that it has made a conscious decision not to over-do on-site amenities: “We are property people – we love creating well designed, highly desirable spaces. What we are clearly not is gym operators, cinema room operators etc. The proposed Bengal Street Scheme is a superbly located within the heart of a great international city.

“City centre amenities are on the doorstep for all Ancoats residents, so we made a conscious decision to stick to doing what we are best at and allow our residents go out of their homes and discover the city and all it has to offer.”

The site is within the Ancoats conservation area, close to Oldham Road, and faces south onto the grade two-listed Victoria Square tenement block. It is flanked by the Mustard Tree warehouse, the Shamrock pub, a substation, a number of older low-rise properties and a surface car park to the north east.

Initially proposed at 10 to 11 storeys, pre-application meetings with Manchester City Council and a Historic England site visit have led the developer to adjust, resulting in a proposal topping out at nine storeys, three levels taller than Victoria Square, although the top floor will be stepped back to lessen visual impact. The discussions also shaped the make-up of apartment sizes, with the city keen to support larger apartments that could appeal to families.