Green light for major Manchester schemes

A number of Manchester projects – including plans to build a 51-storey tower and the redevelopment of the Boddingtons Brewery site – have been granted approval.The largest scheme to get the green light is DQ Investments’ application concerning land bounded by Chester Road, Mancunian Way and the former Bridgewater Canal offices. SimpsonHaugh, Deloitte, Chris Burnett Associates and Ambiente, among others, are working on the development.Proposed are two 51-storey and 21-storey towers, which would be connected by a two-storey podium. The pair will comprise 664 apartments. Of this total, 481 will be in the taller of the two structures, with the other accommodating 168. Also included will be 664 cycle spaces and 260 car parking spaces, as well as 7,160 sq ft of commercial space, a swimming pool and gym.A 26-storey project comprising more than 550 homes and 37,500 sq ft of commercial space will also be built on the former Boddingtons Brewery site in central Manchester.Proposals were submitted by Prosperity UX Manchester Developments earlier this year to transform the eastern boundary of the plot. The brewery closed in 2005 and the 3.4-acre site earmarked for regeneration, which lies immediately to the north of Manchester Arena, is currently used for parking.Dubbed the Old Brewery Gardens, the development will feature 556 one-, two-, three- and four-bed apartments and townhouses, of which 181 will be for private sale and 375 for the build-to-rent market, alongside 37,556 sq ft of commercial floorspace. The project represents phase one of the Boddingtons Brewery Strategic Regeneration Framework.A 32-storey mixed-use tower – comprising more than 600 apartments as well as retail and restaurant space – will also be built in Manchester city centre.Unite Students is behind the New Wakefield Street application, with the company already present in the city through its Chester Street, Kincardine Court, Parkway Gateway, Piccadilly Point and Cavendish Place schemes.Permission was granted for a huge building accommodating 603 student apartments within The Corridor Manchester area. These will be across 77 flats in clusters of between five and ten beds, along with 60 studios. All will be en-suite, while communal spaces will be provided for social activities and study.Also proposed is 2,500 sq ft of commercial floorspace in the ground and first floors which could be used as retail space or a restaurant and bar.