A BIG chunk of Government money could see four new residential schemes on the fringe of Manchester City Centre start on site by the end of the year.
More than £11m is being made available through the Get Britain Building initiative and will help deliver 282 new homes.
This is very good news indeed.
Not only has a lack of supply helped push rents up but it’s also made the market boring and city living should never be that.
Wharf and Field
Two of the schemes are the obvious ones, phase II of Islington Wharf (click here) which was reported on Confidential earlier, and phase 6 of Smithfield in the Northern Quarter which got planning approval last week.
The developers of Smithfield have got £3.63m of investment for a block of 77 apartments that will sit behind the listed Mackie Mayor building just off Swan Street.
From the images available I'm not sure about the design, by London based Mark Weintraub Architects (they also did the City Inn now Mint Hotel at Piccadilly) which is based on a ‘puzzle box’ concept. Their inverted commas, not mine. But I am told the apartments themselves will be bigger than many Manchester has seen built over the years with the two beds having two proper double bedrooms and two bathrooms and there will also be four three beds as well as 21 one beds. Forty five parking spaces underneath.
Which brings us to the other two schemes, one an old favourite, and the other a wild card.
Mills into production
The conversion of Old Sedgwick Mill at Royal Mills in Ancoats is one of the best in the city and work will now start on the two remaining mills, Royal and Paragon.
They have been mothballed for the last five years or so and with owner ING Real Estate showing no real appetite to start renovation Leeds based Renaker Build has swooped to do a deal and take them on.
Renaker is probably the most ambitious player in town at the moment (Lowry Wharf on Ordsall Lane and 300 plus units on Trinity Way in Salford). They don’t mess about.
Each of the mills will be converted to provide 40 apartments and there is also permission for another new build block of 48 units which will complete the complex.
Daren Whitaker who heads up the company said: “The schemes have already got planning and we are hoping to kick on as quickly as possible. It is a great opportunity.”
And he says they will be looking to deliver a similar high quality of fit-out as in Old Sedgwick which is a wonderful example of an industrial building well saved and now well used.
As for the area he would like to see continued investment in Ancoats.
He said: “There has been progressive development and some really nice buildings but what is needed is some more daytime activity in terms of both commercial and retail space, coffee shops and the like.
“The more traffic you get the more vibrant and self policed a neighbourhood becomes.”
Royal Mills
McCauls called in
The fourth scheme is just down the road from Royal Mills and is a site sold by Urban Splash to Astley based Mc Cauls who have won £1.186m to help fund 30 apartments and a handful of houses.
The plot sits between Flint Glass Wharf and Islington Square and McCauls are working on a design with London based architects Metropolitan Workshop.
It’s a wild card because this is Mc Cauls first foray into city living with previous developments generally red brick traditional housing in Wigan suburbs. But Tony Mc Caul, one of the three brothers that now run the company said: “We are very pleased to get this and excited about what we can deliver here.
“We are consulting on the scheme and are not finally fixed on the numbers but it will be a low rise development.”
McCaul's website here.
Small to medium sized developments were invited to bid for this funding and it is interesting that these that have been successful are all clustered in this one area of the city.
The £11m is part of a much bigger pot of cash being made available for the whole of Greater Manchester through the Homes and Communities Agency with a grand total of £25m available to fund 13 schemes providing 713 new homes.
Gardens and Herons
Two other notables that will now be able to continue include Covent Garden in Stockport which the local council is keen to see complete and Herons Reach in Oldham.
Five applicants got rejected.
David Chilton from the HCA in the North West said: “The money is available either as a loan to be repaid at commercial rates over two to five years or the HCA can take an equity stake to share the risk. Most developers have opted for a loan.
“We are in essence stepping in to play a supporting role for these schemes which also need funding from the banks. It is as it says all about Getting Britain Building again and we are delighted that work will start on 713 new homes across Greater Manchester before the end of the year.”
Click here for more info.
Homes and Communities Investment in the central areas
Royal Mills Phase 2 (Ancoats) - 128 units £4.7m HCA investment
Islington Wharf Phase 2 (New Islington) - 37 units £1.5m HCA investment
New Islington (New Islington) - 40 units £1.186m HCA investment
Phase 6 Smithfield (Northern Quarter) - 77 units £3.63 HCA investment
Smithfield - Northern Quarter to get very bright building
