500 flats for Pomona ... but no corner shop
PLANS for more than 500 flats on ‘hidden gem’ Pomona Island have been approved – despite councillors’ concerns there won’t be a corner shop.
The vast stretch of barren wasteland is undergoing a dramatic transformation into a bustling new community, having stood desolate for years.
More than 3,000 new homes are planned, with a series of applications due in the coming years.
The first scheme, for 168 new homes, caused uproar in 2016.
The site has been split into 12 development plots, with eight for flats, two for retail and leisure and one for business.
Hundreds of new homes are already under construction.
Bosses at Trafford town hall agreed the latest set for plans, but labelled the proposals ‘underwhelming.’
The blocks will be 15, 17 and 19 storeys high. They will have 216 onebedroom flats, 274 two-bedroom properties and 36 threebedroom homes.
The blocks will be similar in style to two already being built.
X1 Developments is responsible for a string of new apartment blocks across Manchester and Liverpool.
The firm says each of the three new towers – as part of the Manchester Waters development – will be worth £31-37m.
The 22-acre site, owned by Peel Holdings, is on the Manchester Ship and Bridgewater canals and straddles Manchester, Salford and Trafford. Coun Geraldine Coggins said: “I’m a bit underwhelmed and disappointed with the development. “Essentially, what we have is just an island with homes on it – there is no corner shop and very little recreational space. “I’m concerned about the scheme – and I’m not convinced it’s a good idea.” Committee chairman Coun Laurence Walsh shared his colleague’s concerns. “What we are getting is a piecemeal development,” he said.
“We wanted affordable homes on site, more open space, a play area and travel plan – but we didn’t get any of that.
“But taking all that into consideration, the application is what it is – and I think this is the best we’re going to get.’’
Building has already started on Pomona Wharf, at the St George’s Island end of the site, with two blocks of 216 flats being built.
An apartment in the complex is for sale on Rightmove for £199,995.
Pomona Island opened in 1845 and promised an idyllic escape from hectic city life. It became a dockland site until the 1970s when it fell into disrepair.