PLANS for almost 500 apartments on a chunk of land on the Manchester Salford border have been submitted to Salford Council.
“Our proposals, if approved, will bring back into use an important part of the city that otherwise provides only a negative impact upon the area."
The scheme, designed by OMI architects, shows four residential blocks of eight, ten, twelve and 21 storeys ranged around Wilburn Basin, a former mooring point for boats bringing goods into Manchester.
The basin would form a focal point for the development which could also include 7,000sq ft of commercial space.
The three acre site on Regent Road, next to the Campanile Hotel, is bounded by the River Irwell and just across the water from the vast Granada redevelopment site.
It's close by the 21-acre Middlewood Locks, where 2,000 new homes, restaurants, a park, shops, a gym, and a hotel are planned by the Scarborough Development Group, which bought the site for £10m in 2012.
Regent Road, Salford and Manchester border
The application comes from WB Developments (Salford) Ltd, part of the prolific Renaker Build stable, and brings the number of apartments being developed by the company in Manchester and Salford to well over 1,000.
Renaker is already well underway with the giant Alto development on Trinity Way, and finishing off the Royal Mills scheme in Ancoats after securing £4.7m of government funding to get building restarted.
Renaker has permission to build 497 apartments in two towers, 31 storeys and 19 storeys at Greengate in Salford and last month revealed plans for 282 apartments in another couple of towers, 22 storeys and 28 storeys, on the Grand Central site on Whitworth Street West. This is part of the wider Macintosh Village development which already has Cambridge Mill completed and sits close to First Street.
Busy times then for Renaker director Daren Whittaker. Speaking about the latest Wilburn Basin application he said: “We are pleased to have now submitted our plans for the regeneration of this important and historic part of Salford.
“Our proposals, if approved, will bring back into use an important part of the city that otherwise provides only a negative impact upon the area.
“Having worked closely with key stakeholders and the City we are particularly pleased with the creativity in our design solution to maintain important linkages, access the River Irwell and preserve the basin which was originally built in 1864.
“Our application marks a significant investment into the City and the opportunity to deliver much needed new homes.”
Salford City Council marketed the site for sale in January 2013 and have an agreement in place, although the deal is likely to be dependent on planning. The council are keen to see the site developed and the scheme could be considered as early as next month.
Wilburn Basin Drawings
