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PLANS UNVEILED FOR HUNDREDS OF FLATS ON FORMER BODDIES SITE
HUGE plans to build hundreds of flats on the former Boddingtons brewery site have been unveiled – kick-starting the transformation of Strangeways.
The vast, high-profile plot opposite the Manchester Arena was home to Boddingtons – and its landmark chimney – for more than 130 years.
But following the brewery’s closure in 2005 and demolition two years later, the plot has stood largely empty, aside from the construction of a Travelodge on the corner of Francis Street.
The land is currently used as an 850-space car park, but plans submitted by developer Prosperity Capital Partners would see half of the site – along its eastern edge with Dutton Street – transformed into a new city centre district dubbed New Brewery Gardens.
It could see five brick tower blocks built, ranging between 12 and 26 storeys and containing 556 apartments.
A total of 181 flats in the tallest block will be put up for sale, with the remaining 375 earmarked for the rental market and split between the other four towers.
Shops, cafes and restaurants could also be opened along a new tree-lined high street, called Central Avenue, which is set to be constructed through the centre of the estate.
And it is hoped design and textile firms will set up shop in the development, in a nod to Strangeways’ historic role in Manchester’s rag trade.
In a design statement submitted as part of the application, Prosperity Capital Partners say the plans will ‘encourage the expansion of the city centre further northwards’ and ‘deliver investment to a part of the city which has traditionally been largely ignored by developers, potentially galvanising development in the wider area.’
That fits in with the council’s plans – it has long seen developing the site and expanding the northern fringe of the city centre towards Strangeways as a key aim.
The old Boddingtons site was earmarked for new businesses, flats and a hotel in 2007, but development stalled during the recession.
In 2015 planning chiefs drew up a masterplan aimed at attracting textile businesses and a wave of new townhouses or apartments. A report at the time said redeveloping the site could be a ‘catalyst for the regeneration of the entire Strangeways area.’
The application is expected to be considered later this year.