Pomona Island masterplan pushed back 

Consultation on the long-awaited masterplan for the 26-acre site will not take place until next year due to delays caused by Covid-19, land owner Peel L&P said. 

James Whittaker, executive director of development at Peel L&P, said the firm hoped to publish the masterplan for consultation in early 2021, adding that detailed plans for a build-to-rent scheme at the site were also being worked up.

The project is for 162 apartments across a 13 storey block.

Pomona Island, which Peel has rebranded as Manchester Waters, is a swathe of land that sits between the Bridgewater Canal and the Manchester Ship Canal west of the city centre, straddling Trafford, Salford and Manchester local authority areas. 

A masterplan for the site is being created to map out the regeneration of undeveloped land to create a 2,500-home mixed use scheme. Up to 11 acres of public realm, as well as improvements to canal paths linking the site to MediaCityUK and Manchester city centre, are also proposed. 

The first phase of X1’s Manchester Waters completed earlier this year

Speaking to Place North West in May, Whittaker said a project team comprising Jon Matthews Architects, planning consultant Turley and landscape architect Exterior Architecture, was formulating a masterplan that would be launched for public consultation in 2020. 

Despite delays to the overarching masterplan, some development within Peel’s Pomona Island holdings is already underway. Earlier this year, developer X1 completed construction of the first of five blocks within its Manchester Waters scheme. 

Once complete, the development, designed by architect Falconer Chester Hall, will provide more than 700 homes.