Realty and Lend Lease schemes set for approval

Manchester City Council is set to approve almost 500 homes at its next planning committee meeting next week, across two developments which will deliver a mix of houses and apartments.

At the 20-acre Riverpark Trading Estate near Newton Heath, Realty Estates has submitted plans for up to 340 homes with associated open space, highways and landscaping.

The scheme on Briscoe Lane and Riverpark Road would be a mix of four and two-storey buildings, replacing the employment uses currently on the site.

Buildings on the strip of land include offices, workshop units and warehouses previously used by an abattoir which went bankrupt in the 1990s.

The park was bought by Realty in 2000, and has been around 50% vacant for a number of years. According to a report ahead of the council meeting, it is considered that the site is no longer appropriate for employment purposes.

Shahram Sakhdari, head of developments at Realty, said: “The location was no longer right for industrial use, so it made sense to give the site another lease of life. With the extensive investment going on around East Manchester and the Etihad stadium, it’s a very attractive area, and we expect these homes when built will be very desirable.”

Hodder & Partners advised Realty.

In the Green Quarter in North Manchester, Lend Lease has outlined plans for a 15-storey building made up of 146 apartments, on the site of the Green Quarter management suite on Cheetham Hill Road.

Designed by Broadway Malyan, the development will include ground floor commercial space and parking.

The block would include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and would form the seventh residential block within the Green Quarter scheme.

Deloitte advised Lend Lease on the planning application.

Planning officers have recommended both projects for approval ahead of the committee meeting on Thursday 27 August.