A report detailing the progress on the landmark Northern Gateway project will be heard by the Council’s Executive this week (Weds 29 July).
In March, a successful funding bid for £51.6m from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund was announced, to be used to unlock development land key to the Northern Gateway project – in particular 10.2 hectares of land formerly owned by Network Rail at Red Bank – that will enable significant housing development.
Through the lifetimes of the project, the Northern Gateway will deliver around 15,000 new homes as part of the joint venture between Manchester City Council and FEC (Far East Consortium).
The Northern Gateway comprises 155 hectares of predominantly brownfield or under-used land back into more productive use and the new homes will account for 28% of the city’s housing investment planned as part of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.
The terms of the funding package is expected to be agreed in the coming weeks and will also enable major land remediation works, develop new road access, new footpaths and cycleways, along with necessary utility investments to bring power onto development sites and strengthen existing water and drainage networks.
The funding will also allow work to begin on a central tenet to the project: the City River Park, comprising a network of attractive parks and green spaces extending from Angel Meadow in the city centre and linking to the Irk River Valley, Sandhills and Collyhurst.
InitialDevelopment Area Business Plan – update (up to 2024)
The initial phases of the Northern Gateway have been confirmed and include:
Collyhurst phase 1 will see up to 300 new homes (including 130 social rent) in Collyhurst Village and Collyhurst South, along with new commercial premises and the first phase of the new Collyhurst Village Park – which is planned to be significantly larger than the existing park.
Consultation has been on-going since February this year with local residents to gain vital insight into proposals for the area. The current proposals would involve the demolition and reprovision of 29 existing homes and one commercial unit which will be replaced within the new development.
A planning application for this phase of works is expected later this year once local consultation exercises have been completed.
Planning consent has been granted for 80 new homes on Addington Street, New Cross (now called New Cross Central) with a range of apartments and townhouses.
And a planning application for the former Angelgate at Dantzic Street (now called Victoria Riverside) has been submitted for 634 apartments.
Further update reports around the Northern Gateway project will be brought to future meetings of the executive.
Cllr Suzanne Richards, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration, said: “This funding is the key to unlocking the potential of the Northern Gateway project. This part of Manchester has remained untouched for some time because it requires major investment to install the necessary utilities, a transport network, and the significant land remediation that will allow us to bring forward home building at a scale not seen in this country for decades.
“Planning applications are beginning to arrive for the first elements of the project and we are looking ahead to an application for the new homes for Collyhurst in the next few months – including social and affordable homes. It’s thrilling to see this project lift off.
“In the meantime, we will continue to listen to residents’ views about the plans for their neighbourhoods to ensure the needs of current and future residents help shape this regeneration project as it moves forward.”
