Planning extended on £1bn Holt Town project
CITY councillors in Manchester yesterday approved a request to extend the lifespan of a £1bn, 95 acre waterfront regeneration scheme in east Manchester.
Developer Cibitas was seeking an extension to the outline planning consent initially granted in 2008 allowing it to build more than 4,300 new homes on a stretch of land running eastwards from the New Islington scheme bordering Manchester city centre out to the City of Manchester stadium. At the time, it was the largest ever application submitted to Manchester City Council but the ensuing banking crisis and the sharp fall in residential property values has meant the scheme has never got off the ground.
Cibitas is a joint venture between a number of development partners include the real estate arm of Dutch banking giant ING and developers Stanhope, Waystone, Pigeon Properties and Shawbridge Management – the latter of which is a company owned by former AMEC chairman and chief executive Sir Alan Cockshaw.
Council officials approved the extension to the outline application yesterday, which was for a mixed use scheme containing 4,348 residential units, retail, offices, restaurants pubs and hot food outlets, as well as new public spaces and a primary school as part of a section 106 agreement. However, the renewal is subject to the developer resubmitting an improved ecology report on the site.
The next step for Cibitas will be to submit a more detailed planning application for the first phase of housing at what is expected to be a multi-phase development lasting 15 years.
