AS the only new building in town The Ice Plant has attracted a fair bit of attention with fifteen people already in and another ten about to sign tenancies.
Maybe this is the future and all owner occupiers may be forced to become both landlord and tenant if they want to move.
It always intrigues me who is moving where and why so when I last visited I accosted a couple who were just leaving.
Probably in their 30s they both work near Piccadilly and although they already own a house in Leyland had decided they wanted to try city living and were going to rent out their house and in turn rent at The Ice Plant. Maybe this is the future and all owner occupiers may be forced to become both landlord and tenant if they want to move.
They had decided on a two bed to give them more space and had been impressed with the quality and style and were looking forward to ending the commute.
They don’t intend to have a car in town so no need to pay for car parking.
Only three of the apartments have been let furnished which suits Nathan Ezair from developers The Northern Group as he wants people to settle and stay and feels they are more likely to do that if they have their own things around them.
He said:”We hope people will settle here and build up a community.”
It is a sophisticated building with great detailing and nice touches designed by Roger Stephenson with Nathan Ezair's input as well. Every apartment comes fitted with window blinds fitted so the building will not have a mish mash of curtains to distract from its profile. It’s also a great spot, facing onto Cutting Room square where the Halle will soon take up residence, using the adjoining St Peter's Church as a permanent rehearsal space with small scale recitals.
In an ideal world Nathan would like the retail spaces taken up by Waitrose and a destination restaurant with a more informal cafe area and is petitioning the city council to allow them to pedestrianise the bit of road between the Ice Plant and the square which would seem to make all sorts of sense given what this whole area could become.
The price of apartments here is also affecting the profile with one beds starting at £650, two beds at £810 and if you want the penthouse it will set you back £4,000
Cutting Room Square
