Apartments plan for the old station
THREE plush apartment blocks are to be built on the site of the former Manchester Exchange Railway Station in Salford.
One of the buildings will include five luxury flats including a penthouse suite.
They will add to the city’s construction boom creating a flurry of developments around the historic centre of the city across the River Irwell from Manchester Cathedral.
The council’s planning panel approved two 18-storey blocks and a 16-storey one in what will be a £100m scheme providing 500 residential apartments.
A report submitted to planners says: “The proposal will deliver the final piece in the jigsaw in the comprehensive regeneration of the southern part of Greengate.”
The 1.8 acre plot is mainly a railway viaduct with car parking underneath and on top. It is accessed by Chapel Street and Salford Approach.
The viaduct will be demolished to make way for buildings which would be “distinctive and distinquished”.
One of the 18-storey buildings will have 147 apartments developed for the build-to-rent market.
The 16-storey block will include shops at ground floor level and 209 apartments ranging from studio to three bedrooms.
The second 18-storey tower called “City Suits 2” will consist of 147 residential and aparthotel serviced apartments including five “super suites” between the 15th and 18th floors. A lounge, gym. and swimming pool will also be included in the block.
The last passenger train left the old station on May 5th 1969 when all services were switched to Manchester Victoria. Despite closure the station remained operational for newspaper trains until the 1980s.
Opened in 1894 the station was painted by L S Lowry in a work named Station Approach, which sold for £2.3m at Sotheby’s in 2014.
The plan was submitted by Embankment West Limited, a subsidiary of the Select Property Group, and was approved unanimously. It has been recommended for approval by council officers who said in a report:“The proposed development would represent a further step on the path to the successful regeneration of the Greengate area.”
One condition is that the company makes a contribution of £1.25m towards the cost of a planned Greengate Park.
Coun Derek Antobus, lead member for planning and sustainable development, said: “The Manchester Exchange scheme will contribute to the vibrancy of this part of Salford.”