More than 4,800 new homes are set to be built on the edge of Manchester city centre as a new masterplan for the area is approved. Plans for 3,250 properties at Red Bank have been granted planning permission in principle.
A further 1,551 apartments and townhouses at Dantzic Street have also been given the green light with work set to start later this year. Both developments are part of the Victoria North scheme which will see 15,000 homes built near the city centre over the next 15 years with 20% expected to be ‘affordable’.
Hong Kong firm The Far East Consortium (FEC) is working with Manchester council on the £4bn project which will grow the population by 40,000 people. More than £50m of government grants has also been secured for the scheme.
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Labour councillor Gavin White, who is Manchester council’s executive member for housing and development, said: “It’s great to see the momentum continue for this part of the Victoria North programme. This area of the city centre has lain dormant for many years, and it should be cause for celebration that, through our partnership with FEC, we can ensure it meets its full potential.”
Manchester council’s planning committee also approved applications to expand a sixth form in Hulme and build 50 affordable apartments for over-55s at a former leisure centre in Chorlton. Here are all of the developments that were given the go ahead at the town hall meeting on Thursday (August 31).
3,250 homes at Red Bank
Spread over a 30-acre, largely brownfield site, Red Bank is one of seven neighbourhoods set to be regenerated as part of Victoria North. Rather than submitting full plans, FEC applied for permission in principle to build here.
The outline planning application is for up to 3,250 of the new homes and more than 160,000 sq ft of non-residential floor space – including commercial uses, a health centre, primary school, residential amenities, community spaces, along with new public realm. A fifth of these new homes would be affordable.
Councillors on the planning committee raised questions about the amount of public space in the development and asked for more details about the new primary school and health centre which are planned. Town hall chiefs praised the public realm plans, but said that some other details are yet to be agreed.
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The planning committee approved the application. But before anything can be built, the finer details of the development must be approved by the council.
After the meeting, project director Hilary Brett, said FEC is ‘delighted’ that the plan has been approved and is excited to move forward with it. She said: “Red Bank is one of the most under-used areas in Manchester, but its proximity to the city centre and the existing natural assets of the River Irk and St Catherine’s Wood make it the ideal location for a thriving new neighbourhood.”
1,551 homes at Dantzic Street
Full planning permission for three plots of land in Victoria North’s New Town neighbourhood was also approved by the committee. Just 5 pc of the 1,551 homes planned across seven buildings on this site off Dantzic Street, which is next to FEC’s 634-home Victoria Riverside scheme, would be ‘affordable’.
As well as the residential buildings ranging from six to 37-storeys in height, the plans feature a new high street with 20,000 sq ft of commercial and retail space earmarked for local independent businesses. FEC also says there would be ‘significant improvements to the streetscape of Dantzic Street and Dalton Street with tree planting, resurfacing, widened footpaths and new cycle lanes’.
Project director Hilary Brett said that, if approved, work would start by the end of the year, creating more than 1,800 construction jobs. Councillors voted for the scheme to go ahead subject to signing an affordable housing agreement.
Loreto College expansion in Hulme
Plans by Loreto College to demolish a former probation office to make way for a three-storey teaching block were also approved. The ‘oversubscribed’ sixth form is expanding to the south of its current college campus in Hulme amid a ‘chronic shortage’ of places for student aged 16 and over to study in the city.
The new building on the corner of Chichester Road South and Moss Lane West would accommodate 20 classrooms, an assembly space and a study centre. Two Hulme councillors raised concerns over communication between the college and the local community, citing existing problems with parking.
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The college said that 90 pc of its students travel by public transport. The committee approved the application but asked for a travel plan to be agreed.
50 homes at former Chorlton Leisure Centre
The former Chorlton Leisure Centre has been empty since the leisure centre closed in 2015. Now, the 1920s Art Deco style building in Manchester Road is set to be demolished and replaced by two new five-storey residential blocks.
Social landlord Mosscare St Vincent’s (MSV) Housing Group is behind the plan to build 50 affordable apartments for over-55s on the site. According to MSV, this will be the first scheme for new affordable housing in Chorlton since 2015.
The planning committee voted to approve the development which is expected to be completed by summer 2025 and includes an investment of over £12m.
After the meeting, MSV Charlie Norman chief executive said: “I’m so pleased this scheme has gained planning approval and we can now get this flagship development on site. Our pledge to build age-appropriate homes for every stage in life remains as firm as ever, and ensuring an ageing population have a home that supports their lifestyle and health needs is absolutely a must.
“Chorlton and the surrounding area needs affordable homes to rent for it’s older citizens and we are proud to be the organisation that will deliver a highly sustainable development of the highest calibre and green credentials.”