Property round-up: Plans unveiled for Altrincham interchange; Drug charity buys Blackpool HQ; and more
PLANS have been submitted to Trafford Council for the redevelopment of Altrincham Interchange.
Transport for Greater Manchester, the new name for the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, said the changes will create a fully accessible facility with a modern concourse and a single ticket office for tram, train and bus services.
Councillor Keith Whitmore, chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: “These proposals will revitalise this important site and provide a very attractive gateway to the town.
“While the plans are ambitious, they also retain many of the site’s valuable heritage features – something that came across as being important to many people in the consultation we carried out for the scheme.”
In addition, the bus station will be redeveloped and improvements will also be introduced to the rail platforms, the entrance to the station from Moss Lane and the pedestrian area on Stamford New Road.
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PEAK Valley Housing Association and Rowlinson Construction have started work on the construction of three new retail units at Hattersley Road West in Hattersley, Tameside.
The new retail units are part of a larger £4.7m redevelopment of the area, which will see three existing shops cleared to make way for 33 new two-bed apartments. The scheme has received £2.5m from the Homes & Communities Agency.
Rowlinson Construction will build the new apartments, which will then be rented by Peak Valley to residents over 55. The project will complete by March 2012.
Phil Corris, managing director of Peak Valley Housing Association, said: “This part of Hattersley needs the facilities offered by new retailers and the local community has given its support.
“The retailers will not only service existing residents but also new residents who will be moving into the area as part of a major new housing scheme.”
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DRUGLINE Lancashire, an independent drug support charity based at Union Street in Preston, has spent £400,000 purchasing its existing unit at Dickson Road in Blackpool from its landlord.
The charity administration facilities and officers for project workers, managers and support staff, treatment rooms, a training and conference facility and an ‘open access’ area for clients.
The charity was advised on the purchase by Manchester-based law firm Glaisyers.
Its property development solicitor Ray Arnall said: “Everyone is feeling the pinch at the moment and the third sector is certainly no exception. This freehold acquisition will give Drugline Lancashire the long-term security it needs as well as an investment value it can use to raise secured funding.”
Drugline Lancashire was set up in 1986 with support from NCH Action for Children. Lloyds TSB helped to finance the deal.
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LANDSCAPE architecture firm Grontmij has just started work on two major projects in Greater Manchester.
The firm is undertaking the public realm improvements which will kick off Ask Developments’ proposed £450m Greenquarter scheme on the Salford/Manchester border, and it is also undertaking the public realm improvements around Trafford Town Hall which will lead to its sunken gardens being restored.
Danny Crump, senior associate of the landscape architect team within Grontmij, comments: “Alongside the large-scale Salford Greengate project there have been a number of exciting landscape architecture schemes happening across the North West which are undoubtedly helping to deliver regeneration and renewal to the region.”
John Merry CBE, leader of Salford City Council, said the redevelopment of the public realm element of Greengate, will “really unlock its potential”.
“Over the past ten years Salford has been transformed as a result of significant investment.
“Even though we are now facing tough economic times, it is essential we continue to harness the momentum that has built up to ensure the city and the people living here, continue to thrive.”
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THE Centre for Construction will be holding its fifth annual North West Regional Construction Awards at Chester Racecourse on May 26.
The event is a showcase of the North West’s most innovative construction projects. Award categories include Leadership and People Development, Sustainability and Project of the Year.
The Centre for Construction, which is part of the University of Salford and Constructing Excellence in the North West, said it received a record number of entries this year.
Among the shortlisted projects for awards include: MediaCityUK, Brockholes Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve, A34 Alderley Edge and Nether Alderley Bypass, Workington Temporary River Crossing and the Neptune Theatre refurbishment in Liverpool.
Roy Stewart, chief executive of CCI, said: “This event has grown year on year and is an ideal platform for companies to showcase themselves and their projects to peers, colleagues and potential clients.
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THE designer Wayne Hemingway will address Lancashire’s architecture and design community next week during a visit to Preston.
Hemingway, famous for co-founding the Red or Dead fashion label, and for his work in urban design and town planning, will present the Sir George Grenfell-Baines Memorial Lecture on behalf of the North Lancashire Society of Architects (NLSA) at The Atrium, UCLan Students Union on May 26.
The designer, who was born and raised in Lancashire, founded Red or Dead with wife Gerardine in 1982 before selling the business in a multi-million pound deal in 1996.
In 1999, the couple set up Hemingway Design which has been behind a number of high-profile projects, including the master planning and architecture for the Staiths South Bank housing regeneration development on Tyneside. Hemingway is also chairman of Building for Life, an organisation that promotes excellence in the quality of design of new housing.
Mick Goode, president of NLSA, said: “It promises to be a highly informative and entertaining evening where Wayne will speak about regeneration, creating communities and homes, and how these relate to the current political and economic landscape.”
