PLANNING | Decisions delayed on Manchester pub projects
Manchester City Council’s planning committee have pushed back on the redevelopment of two former pubs, deferring a decision on a residential scheme at Hardy’s Well in Rusholme until a site visit, and being minded to refuse 12-storey student scheme on Cambridge Street described as “a giraffe among hamsters”.
DEFERRED FOR A SITE VISIT
Hardy’s Well, 257 Wilmslow Road
Number of storeys: Six
Number of apartments: 62
Ground floor retail space: 9,720 sq ft
Architect: PHA
Developer: Eamar Developments
A six-storey residential block, proposed on the site of Hardy’s Well in Rusholme, a building known for the Lemn Sissay poem which features on the outer wall and is set to be retained. While recommended for approval at yesterday’s committee, at the very start of the meeting the councillors asked for a decision on the scheme to be deferred until a site visit takes place, before the next planning committee in May.
MINDED TO REFUSE
84 Cambridge Street
Developer: Alumno Group
Architect: Carson & Partners
Number of storeys: 12
Number of student bedspaces: 97
Alumno purchased the former Church Inn pub on Cambridge Street from Urban Splash last year, and is proposing a student accommodation block for the site, receiving several objections over the height, possible increase in anti-social behaviour, and amenities servicing the site.
Speaking at the committee, one objector said that neighbouring windows would experience up to a 70% loss of light, many of them student rooms, which was “discriminating against a transient community” and threatening the students’ eye sight while studying. Local councillor Annette Wright said that “residents in the area are living in difficult circumstances already” which the project would add too, while Cllr Mary Watson described the building as “huge in the context in which it sits”. Watson quoted a local objector who said the block would be “a giraffe among hamsters” in terms of scale.
The councillors ruled that they would be minded to refuse the application, meaning the project will return to committee in May, with a report from the council’s planners detailing reasons for refusal. The committee will then vote on whether to refuse.
