Partners advance £50m Ancoats Works

Capital&Centric and Kamani Property Group have launched a consultation on their plans to redevelop the Manchester site into a 193-home community. 

The £50m Ancoats Works project was first revealed by Place North West in September. 

Architect BDP, and planner Avison Young are advising on the project, which would feature 183 one, two- and three-bedroom apartments and 10 townhouses across two blocks. 

The buildings would be designed as a “modern twist” on the red-brick buildings that once dominated the industrial area, according to the developers. 

The scheme would also include space for a new indie business, such as café bar or general store, and the retention of the Pollard Street façade, the developers said. 

“This is a really exciting development that will bring back to life an old and unloved site and create a new and vibrant community,” said Adam Kamani, chief executive at Kamani Property. 

“The site’s heritage is really important to us and, working with a great design team, we are bringing forward a scheme that retains a lot of that character.” 

Adam Higgins, co-founder at Capital&Centric, added: “Over the years we’ve been investing in up-and-coming neighbourhoods and delivering creative projects that create real communities with character. Ancoats Works has loads of untapped potential and we’re looking forward to creating something special here.” 

Following the consultation, plans for the conversion of the site are due to be submitted to Manchester City Council before the end of the year. 

The latest proposals are a departure from an earlier scheme put forward for the site.  

Plans approved in 2019 proposed creating a 65,000 sq ft headquarters for Boohoo-owned fashion label Pretty Little Thing, founded by Kamani Property Group director Adam Kamani and his brother Umar.  

However, those plans were shelved in favour of expanding PLT’s current head office, as revealed by Place North West last year. 

The Ancoats Works project is the second scheme that Kamani Property Group and Capital&Centric have worked on together.  

Plans for the joint venture’s 118-apartment Swan Street scheme were approved last week. 

An in-person consultation event on the Ancoats Works plans is being held on Monday 29 November from 3pm – 7pm at Hope Mill Theatre on Pollard Street.