Neville happy to welcome international buyers to ‘lozenge’ tower
Former Manchester United and England footballer-turned-property-mogul has refused to rule out selling apartments in his revised £200m St Michael’s scheme to international buyers.
Neville, who fronts the St Michael’s Partnership, was speaking ahead of the second round of consultation on the reshaped scheme which will now preserve the historic Sir Ralph Abercromby pub and former Bootle Street Police Station building at Jackson’s Row.
Architect Stephen Hodder aslo revealed the lozenge-shaped single tower – replacing the previously planned two towers – which will now rise from a podium.
The 39-storey tower will rise to a height of 134.5 metres, two metres lower than the highest point of the previous scheme and has been rotated 90 degrees to be slimmer and less obtrusive when viewed from St Ann’s Square.
In the July consultation, more than 400 people visited the exhibition and 84% of people who responded provided some form of positive feedback. Some 10% opposed the scheme.
At a press conference yesterday Neville spoke with enthusiasm about how “the city is going to be very different in the next five to 10 years in terms of how it looks when you approach it from different sides”.
“Walking round the city, you can’t see a lot of these buildings, but as you approach from say Salford, you are going to see clusters of tall buildings in the city,” he said.
But he also warned of the danger of any overzealous clamour for properties to be sold only to local buyers.
He said: “You would always launch it locally and you’d always want people to be owner occupiers.
“The reality is that if someone comes and buys from you and puts a deposit down two to three years before it’s built and, in the meantime, decides that they’re going to rent it out, what can you do? It’s no enforceable.
“I think it’s a principle that is morally correct, that ultimately the city’s people should get the first go at it.
“Ultimately, I’d prefer to sell every one to local people or to networks of people I know. That would be my perfect world. But the idea that people might buy them off excel spreadsheets, shouldn’t be regarded as wholly negative.
“We’re going to try to sell these to individual people who love the scheme and who want a part of this. That is the absolute preference. But I want to be guarded.
“I think to you have to be very careful at the moment. We’ve gone from wanting to be an international city on one hand with tourism, and then we might be told can only sell to local people on the other hand.
He went on: “There’s a blend, just like there is in Premier League football.
“We’ve benefited so much from the international coaches and players coming into this country.
“In Manchester, Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Eric Cantona, Peter Schmeichel, Cristiano Ronaldo. Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, what they’re doing for this city globally, it’s ridiculous to suggest that we don’t want a fantastic international workforce I the city.
“But I respect the fact that local people are particularly important. But let’s not keep banging the drum saying it’s all got to be local people, because I think that’s dangerous, particularly in these times.
“I think I want people to come and live in Manchester from international shores. I enjoyed living in Valencia, even though it was only for four months.
“I hate to think I wouldn’t get an opportunity to go and live abroad again some time and that I wouldn’t be welcome. It’s dangerous to suggest we can’t have international people coming and living in Manchester.
“People are investing into our city for one reason or another. You could look upon that in many different ways. You could say our city’s being abused financially and that it takes away from the soul. Or you could say that person’s got money that he or she could have invested in any city in the world, but they chose Manchester. So which way do you look at it?
“I’ve sat in Manchester City Council presentations where they have said we want to be a top 20 international tourist destination by 2025. Then in the next breath I’m being told I can only sell to local people.”
The consultation on the takes place at the Grand Hall, Royal Exchange Theatre from 11am to 7pm today (Wednesday, August 23).
Plans are to be submitted for approval in September
View from St Ann’s Square
View from Albert Square
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