WHEN Maine Place on the site of Manchester City’s old football ground was conceived it was to provide an alternative to the ranks of two bedroomed terraces that define this area of Manchester.
The new houses will appeal to young buyers who work in central Manchester but want their own back garden and outside space.
The plan was for a grouping of large three and four bedroom houses where families could put down roots, plus blocks of apartments where young people could start out or older relatives downsize and live on one level in the area they knew.
But guess what? It’s the two bed houses that sell round here so the original plans have been altered. The second apartment block has been scrapped and work has started on the modern interpretation of the terrace (actually more a crescent of semis punctuated with a mini row of three).
Neil Waddington is chief executive of the developer Prospect Homes. He said, “The original plans were spot on when the development started out and Manchester City Council wanted to encourage more owner occupation in the area. The larger family sized homes were welcomed by people wanting more space and there are only a couple still for sale.
“We had 30 completions at the back end of last year which I think shows the popularity of this development. But the market generally has shifted and the demand is for smaller, more affordable units.
“It’s more of a city centre market here than a suburban one. Many of the apartment buyers had been renting in town but found they could get more space for less money each month by buying here.
“We think the new houses will appeal to more young buyers who maybe work in central Manchester but who want their own back garden and outside space.”
The benefits of buying a new, as opposed to an old two-up two-down are obvious – not least being the fact that you’re not going to have to get your hands dirty doing any DIY or face any unexpected bills.
The new house type is the Matilda, a break from the norm so far which has seen every house named after a former Man City player. Matilda is a beautiful name and a tribute to the daughter of one of the workers on the site.
It’s a traditional layout (exactly the same as the Meredith but a semi) with a living room at the front and separate kitchen at the back with a downstairs cloakroom off the kitchen and useful storage under the stairs.
There's two bedrooms: a decent-sized double at the back, and a double at the front. Plus a useful linen cupboard on the landing and a good specification bathroom with nice tiling and shower over the bath.
You get a railed front garden and driveway and mainly south east facing gardens.
A Matilda will cost you £109,950, fractionally more than the two bed apartments which are listed at £107,950.
As well as the semis there are a couple of detached houses which have equal sized double bedrooms and an en-suite to the master which would make renting out the second bedroom an easy option to help pay the bills.
But for both houses and apartments you can take advantage of the Government’s Help To Buy scheme, which is basically underwriting the purchase of new homes across the UK by 20 per cent.
Becky Leighton, sales and marketing director at Prospect Homes, said, “The release of more new homes at Maine Place coincides with the introduction of Help to Buy, which is sure to open up more opportunities for purchasers to own a property at this historic location. Help to Buy’s equity loan means that homebuyers only need to arrange a 75 per cent mortgage and contribute a five per cent deposit.”
The change in planning means there will be around 330 homes at Maine Place when the scheme completes. The design by Leach Rhodes Walker looks good with nice street scenes, although they seem to be leaving the spot where the Maine Road centre circle used to be till last.
They are well on with this latest phase of houses and if you haven’t been, it's worth taking a drive down just to see how much has been achieved here. There are no new show homes yet but you can get an idea of the specification by having a look at the show apartments.
The sales centre is open Thursday-Monday, 10am-5pm or call 0161 232 7563. Maine Place, Manchester, M14 7NW.
