Views pitches 53 Fallowfield family homes

Proposals have been unveiled for the redevelopment of the two-acre former USDAW trade union office site at 188 Wilmslow Road, which has stood empty for five years.

Views recently acquired the site for an undisclosed fee from the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, previously under the control of Watkin Jones Group.

Plans concern the Victorian Oakley Villa, dated 1840, which is to be restored into 11 apartments, and the previous USDAW office building set to become 42 three- and four-bedroom houses.

Nick Moss Architects is the architect behind the 53-home scheme’s design.

The consultation will go live on Tuesday 9 December until 23 December and can be found here.

Patrick Sherdian, senior development manager at Views, said: “Our Oakley Gardens site at 188 Wilmslow Road lends itself to family housing, in keeping with its neighbouring streets and deferring to the nature that surrounds it.

“We know there is a lot of interest from the local community in the future of the site, and it is important to us to engage with our neighbours at this early stage because we want to ensure our proposals enhance the wider area.”

Views is working alongside planning consultant Ashton Hale to bring the scheme known as Oakley Gardens forward to Manchester City Council.

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Sheridan said the team is continuing to test viability and “investigating all options” to provide affordable housing in the scheme.

The USDAW site lies directly opposite the University of Manchester’s 24-acre Fallowfield Campus, which is set to undergo a £400m transformation to add a further 900 beds to the student hub.

Elsewhere, developer Views recently won approval from the city council to bring forward 65 homes at the former Burnage Cricket Club.