Property round up: Home Zone; Stockport Council; Spire Manchester & more
A £4.4m scheme to build 50 homes in Salford including a special community Home Zone has been completed.
The designs for Kenyon Gateway by John McCall Architects in Little Hulton were for City West Housing Trust, a member of the ForViva housing group.
Thirty-eight of the properties are two and three-bedroom houses and 12 are one-bedroom apartments.
Three of the houses are shared ownership with the remainder of properties Affordable Rent.
The Home Zone initiative saw John McCall Architects redesign a residential street and transform it into a valued public space.
The aim is to encourage greater diversity and use of the street by residents, increase children’s play, integrate older people, improve safety and let residents reclaim the environment from the car.
Associate at John McCall Architects, Joanne Mountfield, said: “We have designed a scheme to ensure all homes are attractive with welcoming features that not only provide nice places to live but improve the standard of the wider area.
“There is a lot of attention to detail in the design of all the homes that has been carefully balanced to give them character and individuality while remaining in keeping with the existing architecture.
“The landscaping adds another dimension creating a setting where new build homes are in more mature grounds and benefit from safer and more inclusive communities.”
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WORKS to reveal the Lancashire Bridge for the first time in 78 years have now been completed followed by its official opening.
At the opening ceremony, the Mayor of Stockport, Cllr Andrew Verdeille, unveiled a plaque in his honour own on the bridge, alongside Cllr Patrick McAuley, Paul Griffiths, project engineer from Stockport Council’s delivery team, Matthew Goble, design engineer at Wilde Consulting Engineers, and Gerry McCoy, director of Bethell Construction.
The 145-year-old Lancashire Bridge in Stockport Town Centre has been hidden under Warren Street since 1937.
The project included refurbishment of the historic stone arched Lancashire Bridge, the creation of new public realm space surrounding the bridge, a new viewing area into the River Mersey and the realignment of Warren Street.
The Council received £1.164m in funding from the Department for Transport ‘Local Pinch Point Fund’ to help the local authority repair the bridge structure.
The project was completed by Stockport Council’s Strategic Alliance which is comprised of the Council’s in-house Bridge Engineers, Wilde and Bethell.
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THE official topping out of Spire Manchester, the new private hospital in West Didsbury, has taken place.
VIP guests at an exclusive ceremony watched as the final concrete pour at the highest point of the structural build was completed.
The building, due for completion in early 2017, will have six operating theatres and offer a full range of surgical and medical treatments.
Spire Manchester radiology team leader Sarah Whitham,said: “Being involved in this project is a fantastic opportunity for staff, giving us the opportunity to offer new tests and treatments.”
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REAL estate advisers Colliers International have sold The Waterfront, a landmark seafront public house and restaurant in Anglesey, North Wales for more than £500,000.
Acting on behalf of a national pub chain, the licensed and leisure division of Colliers International secured the sale of the property with unspoilt views over Trearddur Bay to overseas investors.
The new owners are working with a local restaurateur on a major refurbishment to create a “casually elegant beachfront venue for a quality dining and drink experience” with the revamped venue due to re-open for business in the spring of 2016.
Colin Siebert, director, licensed and leisure at the Manchester office of Colliers International, achieved the sale and said: “This property attracted considerable interest which resulted in a competitive tendering process.”
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FURNITURE retailer Onit, represented by Savills, has acquired its third store in the North West at the Fishergate Centre in Preston.
The growing chain, which sells a wide range of furniture, carpets and flooring, has taken occupation of a 4,000 sq ft unit at the centre. It also has stores at The Peel Centre, Blackburn and on Cherry Tree Road, Blackpool.
Chris Nutter, associate in the retail team at Savills, comments: “We are pleased to have supported Onit’s ongoing expansion by securing this new space in Preston. The first two shops are trading well and we are now looking for a further 10 sites across the North West.”
Benson Elliot, the centre’s owner, was represented by GCW.
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CBRE’s Manchester planning and development team has submitted an outline planning application to Knowsley Council for the redevelopment of Knowsley Community College’s Roby Campus site in Huyton for up to 98 first time buyer, family and executive homes.
The circa eight-acre brownfield site is accessed off Rupert Road in a residential area of Roby in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley.
Currently run as the Roby Centre campus, the site comprises a collection of buildings used for teaching and administration functions, along with associated areas of car parking and open space.
The site will be vacated by Knowsley College in the next academic year as part of a wider strategy to fund new state-of-the-art facilities at Stockbridge Lane (the former Christ the King Learning Centre) and Princess Drive.
The newly consolidated estate will mean that all students and staff have access to a wide range of academic and leisure facilities all in one place.
Upon completion of remodelling works at Stockbridge Lane, the existing Roby Campus will become surplus to requirements and the College is proposing to sell the site for residential development to release funds for the relocation.
The proposed two, three, four and five- bedroom homes have been designed to complement the surrounding residential development and protect and enhance the existing green infrastructure, as well as bringing an appropriate land use to this surplus educational site.
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DV8 Designs has been named as a finalist in this year’s prestigious Northern Design Awards.
Two of the Warrington based firm’s projects, The Old Blind School and Beef and Pudding, have been shortlisted in the Restaurant and Bar and Commercial Interior Design Project categories respectively.
The awards, which aim to celebrate the best in commercial, residential and retail design are set to take place on October 30 in Liverpool’s Titanic Hotel, and will see the arrival of the highest calibre industry professionals from across the North.
Managing Director of DV8 Designs Lee Birchall said: “It’s certainly an honour for not one, but two of our projects to be named as finalists in what is undoubtedly one of the industry’s most prominent accolades.”
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A TIMBER products business has invested a five-figure sum in a new showroom to exhibit its growing range of products to consumers and corporate customers.
The facility at Silva Timber Products’ headquarters in Widnes, Cheshire, has taken six months to develop.
It features dozens of products displayed in a gallery format, a 50-inch TV screen for educational videos, computers to make it easier for customers to place orders and browse Silva’s website, and books containing case studies and images showing how the firm’s products are used.
Silva staff are on hand to provide expert design and technical advice.
Visitors can also take away samples to help them decide which timber is best for their project.
