Salford gives nod to homes and up to 1m sq ft of offices

Future phases of the £1bn Middlewood Locks were signed off, Countryside and Bellway were given the green light to begin redeveloping Brackley Golf Course, and Kellen Homes won approval for homes at the former British Vita site of Seaford Road.

APPROVED

Middlewood Locks

The 25-acre masterplan could provide more than 2,000 homes once complete. Credit: via planning documents

Developer: Fairbriar Developments, a joint venture between Scarborough Group International Metro Holdings and Hualing Group

Architect: Whittam Cox

Planner: Zerum

Scarborough has received outline consent, subject to completing a Section 106 agreement, for the remaining phases of its long-term Middlewood Locks scheme.

Last August, the consortium delivering the 25-acre masterplan lodged an application to refresh the outline consent for a 6.6-acre chunk of the scheme.

Scarborough Group International, 50% shareholder in the partnership, wants to deliver up to 1m sq ft of offices on the plot, an increase of 400,000 sq ft compared to the previous outline consent. 

In addition, a multistorey car park, 1,000 homes and 260,000 sq ft of commercial space – including a hotel – also feature within the revised plan. 

The updated proposals will give Scarborough and its partners a greater level of flexibility when it comes to bringing plots forward at reserved matters stage.

Depending on market conditions, there are various options for how each site could be brought forward.

For example, the 1.2-acre Plot A could house up to 530 homes in a building reaching a maximum of 25 storeys, or a hotel of the same height. Alternatively, the plot could be developed into 320,000 sq ft of offices in buildings of up to 15 storeys.

SGI group director Paul Kelly said: “We are delighted to secure outline consent for the remaining space at Middlewood Locks. This updated masterplan delivers against the increasing demand for city living as well as high quality commercial accommodation with a strong balance of public realm and amenity.

“We have and continue to work closely with Salford City Council and other key stakeholders to provide a highly sustainable environment that is accessible to all.”

British Vita site

Bellway and Countryside have both previously put forward plans for the site. Credit: via Google Earth

Developers: Kellen Homes and Rock & Co

Architect: Kellen’s in-house design team

Planner: WSP

The housebuilder, headed up by Renaker managing director Daren Whitaker, has won permission for a £32m project that will see the construction of 168 homes on the site of a former plastics factory on Seaford Road.

Both Bellway and Countryside have previously put plans forward for the site. Now, Kellen, in partnership with landowner Rock & Co, can start demolishing the vacant factory buildings to pave the way for 96 one- and two-bedroom apartments and 72 two- and three-bedroom houses.

The apartments would be spread across three four-storey blocks. Two would be located to the east of the site fronting Seaford Road, while the other would be built to the west of the site, abutting the Albion Academy high school.

The application’s reference number is 21/78729/FUL.

Brackley Golf Club

The golf course closed in 2016. Credit: via planning documents

Developers: Countryside and Bellway 

Architect: Astle Planning and Design 

Planner: Asteer Planning 

Salford City Council agreed a deal with the housebuilders for the 63-acre Brackley Golf Club last November, which saw the authority pocket £18m of the £40m total, understood to be its largest ever capital receipt. 

Outline planning approval for a residential scheme on the site was granted to the golf course’s former leaseholder MHE Investments in 2019 and now, having secured reserved matters consent, Bellway and Countryside are free to start on site. 

Countryside will deliver 342 homes with Bellway building the other 343. The first completions are expected in April 2023.

Countryside will follow a mixed-tenure approach, with homes being built for private sale and for rent. All of Countryside’s properties will be built off-site at the company’s modular factory in Warrington.

Bellway will start construction of its new-build homes later in the year, delivering a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom properties.

As part of the scheme, the developers will invest more than £6m into the local community. This includes almost £2m in education contributions to local schools and £3m for off-site open space.

The application reference number is 22/79339/REM.