Development of six sites aims to deliver 400 homes for a range of tenures, space for local businesses and community activities, improved open spaces, and a pioneering sustainable urban mobility hub.
The City Council, Manchester Life and Great Places today launched a community consultation with Ancoats and New Islington residents and businesses to gather feedback on how the neighbourhood needs to evolve as a home for families, aspirational young people and local businesses.
The joined-up approach will ensure Anplace for inclusive opportunity on the edge of the city centre. The findings will also help inform priorities for other developers considering future activity in the neighbourhood.
Four sites within this consultation focus on kickstarting regeneration of the Poland Street area of Ancoats to connect it into the heart of Ancoats, now seen as one of the UK’s most successful neighbourhood transformations. The two housing sites identified in New Islington would continue regeneration efforts which have previously centred around the marina.
Following consultation feedback and subsequent individual planning applications, work is expected to start in 2021 to ensure neighbourhood transformation momentum continues. New housing, jobs, and economic activity in East Manchester along with accelerating sustainable mobility initiatives will support Manchester’s COVID recovery plans.
The proposals within the consultation respond to Manchester City Council’s 2020 Ancoats and New Islington Neighbourhood Development Framework refresh by delivering:
- A broader choice of homes and more affordable housing.
- New commercial spaces for local businesses to serve the community and increase economic activity.
- Public realm improvements and prioritisation of streets for people over cars by supporting active travel, sustainable transport options and last-mile delivery aggregation.
Great Places and Manchester City Council will focus on affordable housing, including transforming the historic Ancoats Dispensary site into affordable housing, in doing so, preserving and incorporating original features where possible.
Manchester Life will work with the Council to design and deliver the Ancoats Mobility Hub. Manchester Life will also continue to develop housing for Manchester’s professional population and spaces for local businesses.
The six schemes will be designed to give the neighbourhood an open and safe feel to encourage active travel and community interaction. The City Council will also lead a process with all developers across Ancoats and New Islington to improve the existing public realm and create new open and green spaces.
The mobility hub concept will incorporate shared car and cycle parking for residents and visitors, electric vehicle clubs and charging, and a last-mile delivery consolidation centre to reduce vehicle movements and street parking. The requirement is to enable local streets to be prioritised for walking, cycling and community interaction over vehicle movements. It will help the City Council to deliver its City Centre Transport Strategy.
Sir Richard Leese Leader of Manchester City Council, commented:
“Future development across Ancoats and New Islington is a significant opportunity to ensure the past five years of transformation delivered by Manchester Life and others continues to see East Manchester emerge as an inclusive place of employment and opportunity for the city’s residents.
“Maintaining this momentum and focusing on the needs of the city is vital as Manchester recovers from COVID-19. Through our working partnership with Manchester Life and Great Places we can ensure a coordinated approach to identifying community priorities and delivering on the city’s current housing, economic and sustainable transport priorities.
“The City Council will also use this exercise to guide a public realm and green space improvement exercise across the neighbourhood.”
Marty Edelman, Executive Chairman of Manchester Life, commented:
“We’re committed to supporting East Manchester’s future success by working with the community, other developers and local businesses on this next phase. We want to ensure the area remains true to its historical roots and current character but meets future housing, sustainability, economic and community needs.
“As we test and refine proposals, it is vital that we understand the future housing and community needs of residents who have already made Ancoats and New Islington their home. We’re confident that the coming years will see East Manchester emerge as home to an even more diverse and economically active community.”
Matthew Harrison, Chief Executive of Great Places, commented
“Great Places are delighted to be working in partnership with Manchester Life and Manchester City Council to continue our long standing commitment to the regeneration of Ancoats and New Islington. We are pleased to be working towards the delivery of two key sites that will bring forward a range of affordable housing options for those who wish to live close to the city. We look forward to engaging with local residents on our plans and continuing to approach the regeneration of this key neighbourhood alongside our partners.”
Manchester Life Development Company, which was set up in 2014 to restart the regeneration of Ancoats and deliver housing for Manchester’s growing professional population, has invested £250 million to deliver 1,460 homes and 20 commercial units in the neighbourhood over the past five years.
Great Places has been a critical partner in New Islington since the start of the regeneration activity since 2006 and owns or manages almost 200 properties in the area across different tenure types.
The consultation is open until 11 January 2021. Consultation materials, online feedback and contact details to speak with the consultation team are available at www.haveyoursay-ancoats.co.uk
Once plans are refined, detailed consultations for each of the schemes will then take place in 2021, in advance of planning submissions.
