Plan for 1,200 homes at former gasworks site
A new neighbourhood with around 1,200 homes could be built as part of a major redevelopment of a former gasworks site in north Manchester.
Townhouses and apartments in a 33-storey tower and mid-rise blocks are included in plans to transform land formerly occupied by Gould Street Gasworks in Collyhurst.
There are also proposals for a new park between Gould Street and Bromley Street, as well as space for commercial units, an east-west pedestrian and cycle route and underground parking.
The mixed-use scheme, called Gasworks New Town, will form a major part of the £1bn Northern Gateway project to build 15,000 new homes north of Manchester city centre.
It is being brought forward by Southvalley Estates Ltd, a subsidiary of the MCR Property Group which has owned the 6.5-acre site since 2015. Manchester council had earmarked the area, which has most recently been used as a car park, for a flagship residential-led development of its Northern Gateway ambitions. Nick Lake, asset manager at MCR, said: “Our vision for this site has been a labour of love over the past few years.
“Our ambitious proposals for the Gasworks New Town realise the development potential of a key city centre location and the aspirations for the Northern Gateway.
“We have worked in close collaboration with Manchester council to bring forward a major transformative development that will create a new beating heart of a community in close proximity to the city centre.”
If planning permission is granted the developer and National Grid will begin clearing the site in 2021 or 2022.
The development will be delivered in four phases starting with the corner on Gould Street closest to Rochdale Road, and it is hoped that residents will be ready to move in by the end of 2023.
Meanwhile the 33-storey tower is likely to be the last piece of the scheme and will be finished towards the end of the current decade.
Southvalley Estates, together with planning consultants WSP, will be seeking feedback from members of the public before a planning application is submitted later this year.