Significant housing submissions slated for approval at city’s next planning meeting
Three significant accommodation schemes will come before Manchester City Council planning committee next Thursday (November 21), with all slated for approval.
The first is a proposal to redevelop six existing student accommodation buildings on Hathersage Road in the Ardwick Ward, in a scheme valued at £100m.
The application, by Empiric Student Property, includes the phased demolition and extension of the existing buildings to a maximum height of 12 storeys to form Purpose Built Student Accommodation providing 876 bedspaces in total, as well as ground floor community/commercial space.
This application was deferred at the previous committee meeting on October 24, to enable members of committee to undertake a site visit on the grounds of understanding the impact of the development on the adjacent Grade II-listed Victoria Baths, the unadopted road and use of open air roof terraces.
Twenty representations were lodged with the council at last month’s meeting, 18 of which objected to the proposed development.
Speaking against the applicant’s proposal, Ardwick councillor Mohamed Muse called for a change to the massing, saying: “Bring the height of the back building down to six storeys.
“We’re not asking to halt the development, but rather a reasonable adjustment.”
CGI of Cheetham Hill Road scheme
ZX Cheetham Hill Developments is behind a submission to build a part 17/part 23-storey residential development comprising 237 apartments and ground floor commercial use on Cheetham Hill Road in the Cheetham Ward.
The accommodation would comprise 82 one-bed and 155 two-bed apartments. The proposed scheme is in the Great Ducie Street Strategic Regeneration Framework area.
The site was previously used as a hand car wash and car dealership but is now vacant. It currently contains a vacant building, a canopy, hardstanding and limited vegetation and scrub.
Three letters of objection have been lodged, claiming: “The proposal is awful and generic. This does nothing to address the heritage buildings or the history of the area. And it will block the view and air flow of Green Quarters’ buildings.”
Another objection claims: “It will end up with mis-mash of architecture designs with no distinct identity. Its height should be lower and have a similar height with the buildings in Green Quarter.”
Another says the proposal will obscure views from balconies for those living in the Green Quarter.
Sparkle Street proposal
Councillors will also be asked to approve a scheme involving the demolition of existing part vacant buildings and the erection of a part 10-storey,part 27-, part 28-storey residential development comprising 359 PRS homes on a vacant brownfield site on Sparkle Street in the city’s Piccadilly Ward.
The site was previously used as a telephone exchange and is now largely unoccupied with some of the units used for storage space. It contains an 11-space car park and two buildings that are partly used for storage and distribution.
The applicant is Foras (Sparkle Street) Ltd.
The scheme has attracted 13 objections which relate to concerns about: design and scale and impacts on townscape, impacts on heritage assets, lack of affordable housing, impacts on amenity, privacy and overlooking, impacts on sunlight and daylight levels, loss of trees/impacts on ecology, traffic, highways and parking provision and wind.
