Work starts on Manchester’s 128 homes in Ancoats

Wates Construction has begun building 118 apartments and 10 townhouses off Rodney Street for This City, Manchester City Council’s housing delivery vehicle.

The £30m, low-carbon housing project was designed by Buttress Architects and comprises 27 one-bed flats, 91 two-bed apartments, eight three-bed townhouses, and two four-bed townhouses.

Each of the townhouses has off-site parking with EV charging and a private garden. The Ancoats housing project also includes seven disabled parking spaces that have their own EV charging point. The nearby Ancoats Mobility Hub will also provide parking for residents.

A third of the 128 homes will be available at Manchester Living Rent. This new tenure is capped at national government’s Local Housing Allowance rate, meaning those on full housing benefit will be able to afford to live in these homes.

The remaining two-thirds will be available at market rent.

The Rodney Street homes mark This City’s development debut. The city council-owned development company is aiming to build at least 500 homes a year on council-owned land. Of these 500-a-year homes, at least 20% would be designated as Manchester Living Rent tenure. This City has around 1,500 homes in its immediate pipeline, according to the city council.

Cllr Gavin White, the authority’s executive member for housing and development, described the start-on-site day as “a real moment” for the council.

“The aim for This City is about using Council-owned land to build the homes that our residents need, that our residents can afford, in locations they want to live,” he said. “Rodney Street exemplifies this vision.”

He added later: “The road to building this type of housing is always challenging, particularly in the context of the current economic conditions, but we are proud to celebrate these homes and what they will mean to the Manchester people who live in them.”

• LISTEN: White spoke with Place North West and Onward Homes about strategies for homes of the future.

In constructing the This City project, Wates has agreed to a robust social value programme including 140 weeks of work experience for students, 200 hours of volunteer time on community projects, and a £500,000 investment into voluntary community and social enterprises. Manchester City Council said that Wates has already delivered more than twice the required volunteer hours.

“Rodney Street represents a pioneering shift in development approach for Manchester City Council and we’re proud to support them in their ambitions, said Dave Saville, regional managing director for construction in the North at Wates.

“We’ve worked closely with our project partners and the council since the scheme’s inception to carefully plan out how we can ensure Rodney Street delivers its sustainability goals, as well as provides lasting benefit to the wider Ancoats community through social value initiatives,” he continued.

“We have a long history working with councils across the North and beyond on similar residential schemes and the positive impact that considered, sustainable provision of new affordable homes has on an area cannot be underplayed. I applaud Manchester City Council and This City for bringing this development to life and now we’re underway with construction, I and all our teams, look forward to delivering the next milestone.”

The Rodney Street project sits close to the city council’s proposals for improvements to the public realm around Ancoats Green – work on which is set to begin later this year.

From left: Buttress’s Seb Drayson, Cllr Irene Robinson, Wates’ Tom McGuire, Cllr Gavin White, This City’s Jason Hingley, Cllr Sam Lynch, Wates’ Dave Saville, Buttress’s Andy Avery. Credit: via Manchester City Council

Buttress factored in this improved green area in its designs for the Rodney Street homes.

“We’ve worked hard to ensure that the homes have good links with their surrounding areas by positioning the apartment blocks on either side of a new tree-lined and planted street,” said Buttress associate director Ben Tabiner.

“The green street will create a strong connection across the site and will encourage movement through the area and beyond. The area is also surrounded by original historical streets, and we wanted to reflect this in our designs by opting for a palette of red brickwork in complementary tones.

Tabiner also touched on the project’s sustainability credentials.

“Sustainability has also played a significant role in the design with many ecological features being incorporated: such as the buildings being developed in line with the Association for Environment Conscious Building’s low carbon standard as well as being fossil fuel free whilst the sun’s energy is maximised with the benefits of passive solar design,” he said.

“The combination of mechanical ventilation and heat recovery and heat pump technology will help to keep the energy running costs low for future occupants.”

You can learn more about the Rodney Street project by searching Manchester City Council’s planning portal using reference number 134154/VO/2022.