Government may yet give Neville red card over skyscraper plan
ANY DECISION ON FORMER UNITED STAR’S CITY CENTRE SCHEME COULD BE OVERRULED BY SECRETARY OF STATE
THE govenment could intervene in Gary Neville’s luxury skyscraper plans amid continued concerns about their impact on surrounding heritage.
Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid wants the option to consider proposals for St Michael’s – on Jackson’s Row – himself, even if the town hall passes them in principle later this week.
He could send it to a planning inquiry if he has concerns.
St Michael’s has become one of Manchester’s highest-profile development sagas of recent years, having sparked fierce opposition from residents and heritage body Historic England when initial designs were first unveiled a year ago. Historic England warned original plans to build two skyscrapers so close to listed treasures such as the town hall and Central Library would cause them ‘substantial’ harm.
As a result the designs were scrapped and redrawn. The revised proposals are due to go before planners on Thursday.
The covering report reveals more than 90 per cent of 200 or so responses to the latest designs are objections.
Most of them argue the development is out of scale for a location so close to the city’s civic architecture.
Historic England, while not as vehement in its criticism as last year, still says the redrawn proposals will cause architectural harm, albeit less than previously.
As a result the secretary of state ‘would like the opportunity to consider whether call-in is appropriate for this application,’ according to the report.
Councillors will therefore not be able to take a definitive decision on Thursday.
Officers are recommending they instead declare themselves ‘minded to approve’ – a view that in theory could now be overruled by the government if Mr Javid disagrees. Original plans for St Michael’s, a £200m scheme fronted by Neville – but in which the council also has a substantial land interest – would have created two new skyscrapers. The former police station and Sir Ralph Abercromby pub would have been completely demolished. After those proposals prompted a backlash, one of the two towers was scrapped and the remaining skyscraper moved further away from the town hall. The Abercromby and the police station facade were also reinstated. Overall the final plans would see a 5-star hotel and around 190 apartments in the skyscraper itself, including a 500-capacity ballroom and spa. Planning officers are supporting the revised application but concede it will affect the setting of listed gems such as the town hall, the Albert Memorial, Central Library and St Ann’s church. “The issue that has generated the most concern is the height of the tower and its impact on the historic environment,” says the report.
“It has to be acknowledged that the tower in particular would have a significant impact, and in some instances as set out in the report, this is harmful to the historic environment.”
However, Historic England has itself defined the effects as ‘less than substantial,’ it points out.
“This is a finely balanced judgement as the impacts on the historic environment are high, as are the public benefits,” says the report.
It concludes the development ‘represents an opportunity to address an identified need for a prestigious mixed-use scheme of the highest quality at a strategic location in the heart of the city centre.’
No Section 106 agreement – the usual planning mechanism for securing affordable housing – is proposed. Instead the town hall plans to make affordable housing cash available through its own land interest in the development, although financial details have not been made available.
So far it remains unclear whether or not city centre councillors will object to the application at Thursday’s meeting.
If the committee declares itself ‘minded to approve,’ central government will then take a decision on whether to officially review it.
In some instances this is harmful to the historic environment Historic England report