Views gets green light, while Soller told to hold tight
Manchester City Council approved Views Holdings’ application for 35 homes off Withington Road but opted to defer evaluating Soller Group’s £21m proposals for a 182,900 sq ft office block in the Northern Quarter.
The city council’s planning committee met Thursday afternoon to debate the applications, both of which had been recommended for approval by the local authority’s planning officers.
The deferral of Soller Group’s office block application will enable city councillors to conduct a site visit. They will explore the proposed office plot, which is bound by Great Ancoats Street, Lever Street, Houldsworth Street, and Little Lever Street.
Because of the site visit delay, Soller’s application, which was designed by Howells and submitted by AshtonHale, will have to wait until 23 January for a verdict.
Ollier Smurthwaite is leading on the Views scheme’s design. Credit: via planning documents
Views Holdings had better luck. The second time was, indeed, the charm for the developer’s 35-home application. After its first time at Manchester City Council’s planning committee led to a deferral pending a site visit, the project’s second trip to committee ended with a vote to approve.
Views can now move forward with its £7m gross development value plans to construct 31 apartments and four townhouses on the former site of the Nelo James community centre.
Ollier Smurthwaite Architects designed the proposals for Views. There is no affordable housing element to the proposals, which will instead deliver 13 one-bed and 18 two-bed market flats as well as a mix of two- and three-bed townhouses.
AshtonHale was also the planning consultant for Views’ scheme. The project team for the successful scheme included Curtins, BEK, Redmore Environmental, Turley, Hollow Jennings, Lighthouse Acoustic, Renaissance, Element Sustainability, GTech Surveys, Smith Marston, Amenity Tree Care, and Bell Munro.
You can learn more about Views proposals by searching application reference number 136256/FO/2023 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Want a closer look at the Soller application? Use reference number 139778/FO/2024.
What on earth do councillors actually do on these site visits?
By Site visit watch
Does the councillors not know the area? One of the buildings is collapsing.
By Anonymous
Ridiculous! Get it approved. It’s a fantastic design
By Steve
It doesn’t make sense because they still exited in Great Ancoats St area. If the build is collapsing can understand and if the build is exited not understand. Proposed for new office building would be in Mayfield or Springfield in Central Manchester it would be perfect.
By G J Kitchener
I don’t understand why, like in most other Local Authorities, site visit(s) with local members/committee members does not form part of the pre-application consultation process. Not sure if it is ineptitude or for the committee members to demonstrate they are ‘doing something’ by causing a small delay. Hopefully sorted in Jan 25.
By Anonymous
Who doesn’t love a green light?
By PLF_Cloud_Cuckoo_Land
I put it in just for you!
By Julia Hatmaker
Bravo. Season’s greetings.
By PLF_Cloud_Cuckoo_Land