THING OF THE WEEK
LIZARD LOVING… Street artist Paul Curtis has completed work on his largest ever mural, transforming Ainsdale’s Toad Hall with a large painting of a lizard. Curtis started the piece back in August and has used 330 litres of paint and 42 cans of spray paint to complete it. “The are many, many challenges involved with a building like this,” the artist said. “The claws of the lizard were one of the most difficult things I have ever painted. I knew this would be a tough assignment and I knew it would take time.”
MediaCity__ looking sparkly on its 10th anniversary. Credit: via Carousel
MEDIACITY… The Salford mixed-use scheme is 10 years old. The project transformed a swathe of derelict former docklands and is now home to the BBC and ITV, among others. Plans for the next wave of development, which features six buildings comprising more than 1,000 homes and around 475,000 sq ft of offices, are in the works and the future looks bright. Now, in what looks like a move to make itself more appealing to a European audience post-Brexit, the artist formerly known as MediaCityUK has dropped the UK part of its name.
Credit: via Font Comms.
BUNG-A-LOAD OF FOOD DOWN YOUR THROAT… Following the news that croissant ninjas Pollen would be taking residence at Capital&Centric’s Kampus neighbourhood, yet another mouth-watering occupier has been announced. Bánh Vì, of Altrincham Market fame, will sling South East Asian delights from the Bungalow, the former Manchester Metropolitan security cabin on the site. The foodie roster is really filling up at Kampus; pastries and from Pollen and broths from Bánh Vi aside, you can also get your hands on Pizza from Common, beer from High Ground, and pretty much anything you like from General Store.
Credit: Place North West
DELIVER ME TIMBERS… The long-awaited revamp of Salford’s Buile Hill Mansion could finally become a reality. Plans for the replacement of rotting timber have been lodged and the council has appointed contractor Schofield and Sons to carry out the job. A full restoration is scheduled for 2022/23, according to Salford City Council. You might remember Buile Hill Park and Mansion featured in the BBC’s Manctopia series, during which it was the subject of a refurbishment project. The scheme would have been delivered with the proceeds from a housing project developed by Capital&Centric on nearby brownfield land. However, the 60-home neighbourhood didn’t progress after residents found the use of the words ‘homes’ and ‘park’ in the same sentence too much to tolerate.
Credit: Google Earth
PUSHING THE BOAT OUT… FIREM’s impending redevelopment of Botany Bay seems to have prompted the owners of a nearby plot of land into action. Mr and Mrs Smith, the owners of Botany Bay Boat Yard, have lodged plans to repurpose the site, delivering 13,000 sq ft of workspace across 10 units aimed at SMEs. If you add this to FIREM’s proposed 405,000 sq ft of commercial space, we could see Botany Bay – ideally located next to J8 of the M61 – become Lancashire’s answer to Birchwood Park.
