The vast Victorian arches underneath Manchester Central are set to house luxurious new facilites, including a swimming pool and aquarium.
The facilites will form part of the development at the city’s newest residential tower, Viadux.
Currently being developed by North West-based property developers Salboy, Viadux will provide 375 luxury apartments – with either one or two bedrooms – and residents will be able to enjoy a large private gym, studio space and treatment rooms, private dining, workspace and a karaoke bar as well as the decadent spa, pool and bar in the arches.
A massive engineering project is currently going on in the underground arches in preparation for the construction of the residential tower – which will rise up 40 storeys – alongside the 14-storey office tower.
The two towers will be linked by landscaped gardens.
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A critical point in the £300 million scheme – which has been described as “one of the most technically and logistically challenging construction projects ongoing in the UK” – has just been reached this week.
The team are now preparing to punch through from the arches to the service yard above.
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A new staircase and lift access from Great Bridgewater Street to the Deansgate / Castlefield Metrolink stop is also already under construction.
In the meantime, while the large-scale construction work continues, developers Salboy have released a collection of new images today that show how the historic arches will be used to create the state-of-the-art amenities.
Credit: Salboy / Our Studio
Speaking on the progress of the development, Simon Ismail – co-founder of Salboy – said: “The vaulted spaces are on a huge scale and are absolutely majestic [so] we wanted to incorporate this historical element into the project and use them to create the most luxurious and unique facilities in the city.
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“We have all this architectural history underground while rising above will be spacious modern apartments, fitted to the latest and highest specification right in the heart of the centre of the city.”
“The technical challenges and design elements are huge on a scheme like this,” added senior project manager, Rob McLoughlin.
“Some of these works never before undertaken in this country [and] it has required an immense amount of planning and team work to get to this point.”
The UK looks set for a ’30°C heatwave’ this summer, according to weather expert
Danny Jones
It’s been a bit of an up-and-down spring but the warm weather is finally starting to arrive here in Manchester, with temperatures reaching up to 21°C this week and the summery vibes only set to increase over the next month or so as meteorologists are predicting a 30°C heatwave soon enough.
March onwards has been a pure mix of blustery winds, grey skies and flashes of rainfall, with just a few glimpses of sun peeking through and the thermometer has still been struggling to get into double digits – until now anyway.
As we leave April behind, the forecast across the UK is looking a lot brighter and according to the likes of the Met Office, those numbers are going to keep creeping as we head deeper into the month.
In fact, some experts are predicting that Britain could be set for a heatwave with temperatures of 30°C and over in just over a month’s time. It better bloody hurry up, put it that way.
According to Jim Dale, Senior Meteorologist at British Weather Services, while much of May will be a bit of a mixed bag, “towards the latter stage and into June and July… we will see climbing temperatures well into the 30s in the prone areas.”
As reported by Birmingham Live, while Dale didn’t detail the kind of heat Manchester can expect, specifically, the indication is that the region is beginning to dry and the country as a whole is now heading “in the right direction”.
Although it likely won’t be until the very tail end of May that we start to see the summer as we know rolling in, the trends around the continent are suggesting positive signs, adding that “a lot of Europe is getting the scorching hot temperatures” of late.
The Met Office’s Tom Morgan also warned The Guardian that we get anything close to a heatwave this month, so we’ll have to be patient and wait for the turn come June time, especially up North.
Temperatures are on the rise this week, but not everywhere will see the warmth all the time 🌡️
Oban in the west of Scotland sees a steady increase towards the weekend 📈
Where as Newcastle will see its highest temperature today before dropping off later in the week 📉 pic.twitter.com/gUOXDjm8YF
While we did enjoy a heatwave in September of last year, hitting a top end of 33.5°C, the chances of the country challenging the most recent temperature record sat back in 2022 (40.3°C in July 2023) are still looking slim.
April has been described as a “month of two halves” overall and let’s just say we’re looking forward to a strong showing this May.
Where in Greater Manchester are you most looking forward to heading when summer finally arrives?
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Dunk (via Flickr)
UK News
Manchester firefighter surprises partner with proposal during new recruits parade
Danny Jones
We’re a sucker for a wholesome little video as we know you are, which is exactly why we thought of you lot when we came across this video of a newly graduated Manchester firefighter surprising his partner with a heartwarming proposal.
Just the kind of heartwarming that usually sets us off after a long week at work.
The clip shared by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) on Thursday, 25 April, shows Manc fireman James popping the question to his girlfriend sat unassumingly in the audience at a recent passing out ceremony.
Pass out ceremonies are when trainees go from recruits to fully qualified firefighters after completing their intensive operational training. It’s a long-standing tradition in the emergency services where friends and family gather to celebrate their achievements – it’s almost like it’s the perfect opportunity…
Watch as a Manc firefighter turns his passing out ceremony into a surprise proposal.
As you can see, since the graduates are usually the centre of attention, James couldn’t help but size his moment and instead of walking and lining up normally like everyone else, he decided to head straight over to his wife-to-be and get down on one knee.
You already know the rest.
Welling up immediately and barely able to remove her hands from her face, Melissa nods and says yes as the crowd cheers and the pair share a smooch.
Writing on social media, the GMFRS said: “We managed to capture a VERY special moment at our new recruits pass out parade today… Congratulations to James and Melissa!”, adding, “Certainly one way to start your new career”.
If we don’t see all the groomsmen dressed as firefighters on a random viral video sometime soon we’re going to be gutted.
All the best to the happy couple and if you’ve got any more lovely clips like this to send in so we can make ourselves cry (in a good way), you know what to do.