Pair of Manchester resi schemes to progress 

More than 250 rooms for university-goers in Moss Side and 72 apartments in Rusholme are to be approved by the city council when its planning committee meets next week. 

Moss Lane East student resi 

Developer: Cityside UK 

Architect: CarsonSall 

Planner: Turley 

The scheme contains new-build and refurbished elements. Credit: via Turley

The developer’s 261-bedroom scheme would be constructed on Moss Lane East near Whitworth Park.  

Cityside UK vehicle CS Moss Lane East lodged an application for the student housing project with Manchester City Council in November.  

The site, which is bound by Moss Lane East, Parkfield Street, and Heald Place, currently compromises two detached buildings and one of them is grade two-listed.  

The proposed development would see the non-listed building demolished and replaced with a nine-storey L-shaped building featuring 54 studios and 207 rooms within cluster flats.  

The new-build element would be linked to the listed building, which would be retained and converted into amenity space for residents.  

Amenities proposed include study rooms and booths, collaboration spaces, lounges, a cinema, a gym, a games room, and a well-being area.  

Cityside’s scheme is located close to both Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester. 

An officer report states that the development “would make effective use of a brownfield site and represents an appropriate and satisfactory form of development that would make a meaningful contribution to the supply of student accommodation”. 

Officers have recommended the project for approval. To learn more about the project, search for reference numbers 135544/FO/2022 and 135545/LO/2022 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal. 

Victoria Park Probation Centre 

Developer: Britannia Group 

Architect: Ollier Smurthwaite Architects 

Planner: Avison Young 

The scheme is designed by Ollier Smurthwaite. Credit: via Ashurst Communications

Developer and investor Britannia Group wants to redevelop a former probation centre in Rusholme.

The project would see the construction of a 3.5-storey apartment block and a series of seven blocks made up of townhouses and flats on the premises of the old Victoria Park Probation Centre off Laindon Road. 

The proposed apartment block would sit on the corner of Daisy Bank Road and Laindon Road, while the townhouses would be situated on the west of the 1.6-acre site. 

The apartment block would consist of 23 one-bedroom flats and 14 with two bedrooms. Ground-floor apartments would have private gardens, while the other residents would be able to enjoy shared green gardens in the back. There would also be parking provided for the residents. 

The other residential blocks would comprise 15 three-bed and 15 four-bed townhouses, two one-bed and two two-bed flats, and one six-bed house. The houses would have private courtyards and shared green space and a kitchen garden. Parking would be incorporated into the courtyards of the houses, with townhouses also having one allocated in-curtilage parking space. 

Britannia Group estimates the project’s gross development value would be £16.5m. A viability statement by Roger Hannah lists the base construction cost for the scheme as £10.6m. 

In addition to Avison Young and Ollier Smurthwaite Architects, the project team includes arboricultural expert Trevor Bridge Associates, transport consultant Curtins, flood risk and drainage consultant The LK Group, air quality and lighting assessor BWB, environmental standards expert Crookes Walker Consulting, and fire consultant OFR Consultants. Hann Tucker is the noise assessor, GIA is the daylight and sunlight consultant, and the University of Salford is the archaeological consultant. 

The project’s application reference number with Manchester City Councill’s planning portal is 135848/FO/2022.