The Manchester city centre skyline is set to change once again, as a nine-year project to build four “iconic” skyscrapers has been approved by councillors.
Set to be known as ‘Trinity Islands’, the £751 million plans for the SimpsonHaugh-designed apartment blocks – which were submitted by residential tower specialists, Renaker – are to take shape on two pieces of land on the banks of the River Irwell, and will include a total of 1,950 apartments.
The apartments are to be built on a car park plot between Regent Road, Liverpool Road, and Water Street.
As well as the residential facilites, each of the skyscrapers will feature co-working space, a gym, and lounge areas, and then externally, each building would also have a private residents’ garden that’s accessed directly from the ground floor space.
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There’ll also be private underground car parks and cycle storage within both the three-storey basements.
(1/3) We are delighted to announce we have been granted full planning permission for our Trinity Islands development! pic.twitter.com/z2q2L3O864
Nearly two-thirds of the site off Trinity Way will become green space open to the public.
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This approval by Manchester City Council comes after previous plans for five towers – including one which would have been the tallest residential building in Western Europe – failed to materialise, however one of the skyscrapers in these latest plans by Renaker would still be among the tallest towers in the UK outside of London, second in Manchester to the South Tower at Deansgate Square.
Controversially however, none of the new apartments would be deemed “affordable”, as the developer said this would affect the financial viability of the scheme.
An initial contribution of £106,000 towards affordable housing elsewhere in the city has been agreed and a “clawback” clause means the developer could be asked to contribute more cash if the project becomes more profitable.
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The developer also agreed to contribute £1.5 million towards a new school on Crown Street.
During yesterday’s planning meeting, Manchester City Council’s planning development manager Dave Roscoe told the committee that there were some “very serious challenges” with the site, but that this project was “special”, and admitted that some significant financial public benefits come from the scheme, including a £10 million public space and the funding towards the school.
The nine-year £751 million project has been approved by councillors this week / Credit: Renaker & SimpsonHaugh
Speaking on the green light given to the plans, a spokesperson for Renaker said the company is “delighted” with the decision, adding: “We look forward to delivering these new, iconic buildings, as well as new homes and facilities of the highest quality for residents and the wider community.”
Deansgate councillor Joan Davies, who represents the ward where the site is located, said she was “disappointed” with the amount of affordable housing, but was pleased the “clawback” clause created the possibility for the council to demand more money from the developer later.
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Manchester City Council Leader Bev Craig added: “It’s important that we look at major schemes like Trinity Islands in the round, alongside our city’s plans and the positive impact that this sort of growth continues to have on our city.
“I am passionate about ensuring that Manchester’s growth benefits everyone.
“Manchester remains a place of prodigious population growth and the city can only meet the demand for new housing through major schemes such as this one, which also brings brownfield land back into use.”
(3/3) All at Renaker are excited to begin working on Trinity Islands, which will sit near the emerging St John’s area and new factory venue for culture and the arts, as well as the Deansgate and Spinningfields districts.
She added: “Trinity Islands is a significant investment in our city, which is testament to the confidence developers continue to have in Manchester, despite the ongoing economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This development alone will create 2,000 homes and 4,000 jobs in the construction stage.”
Featured Image – Renaker & SimpsonHaugh
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Beloved plant-based independent street food business Herbivorous is set to close imminently
Danny Jones
We hate writing this, but we have news of yet another local hospitality closure as beloved Manchester-born and pioneering plant-based brand Herbivorous has confirmed they’ll soon be calling it a day.
If you can hear us sighing through the screen, apologies – we’re just getting really fed up of saying farewell to our favourites, so god knows how rubbish those involved feel.
As you can see, the team behind the multi-location vegan street food specialists began by writing: “It’s a long one so stay with me… It seems you can’t open social media at the moment without reading about another hospitality business closing down.
“Throughout 8 years of Herbivorous years we’ve come up against many challenges from Covid 5 years ago to watching all the big vegan brands from London and beyond come to Manchester and largely disappear again to the closure of Hatch our busiest site, but with continually increasing costs its becoming really difficult to maintain a thriving business.”
Herbivorous started out life back in 2016 as a cult hit at the old outdoor food, drink and entertainment hub centring around a ‘container village’, the first of its kind in the city and soon to reopen under new owners and a new name.
Since then, co-founders Robyn and Damian have gone on to expand not just to one permanent site over in Withington but with outposts in Sheffield and York, having gained a strong reputation with stalls and pop-ups all over.
Their hospitality story might not have the ending we personally would hope for, but it’s been a brilliant one for so many foodie fans – us lot included.
Nevertheless, they go on to add in the emotional statement that external pressures such as a recent bereavement and their own ever-growing family have also contributed to the decision which, despite being an understandably hard one, “feel like the right time.”
“We are so incredibly proud of how far we’ve come from spending long days slinging duck wraps from our green vintage horse box at festivals to three Herbi locations across the North of England”, they continue, “and with that we’ve also met so many fantastic people!”
“Whether you worked for us at a few festivals over [the] summer or for years at our restaurant, we just wanted to say and massive thank you! The memories will stay with us forever and, of course, how can we not mention our fabulous customers!
“Thank you all so much for choosing Herbivorous over the years. Those of you who had our food at Festivals and then found us at one of our permanent locations, those of you who came back week after week to Hatch, Spark, Withington and beyond.”
They signed off by detailing their final business days, with their Sheffield Kommune spot having already shut for refurbishment; meanwhile, their spot in SPARK York will be wrapping up on Saturday, 19 April.
As for their flagship brick-and-mortar venue here in Greater Manchester, Herbivorous Withington will be shutting on Friday, 25 April.
Once again, there’s nothing we can say other than thank you for years of delicious food, that we’re guttted to see you go, and that everyone at The Manc Group wishes you the best whatever comes next.
AJ Tracey is playing a VERY intimate gig in Manchester next month
Thomas Melia
London rapper and respected grime artist AJ Tracey is ‘live and direct’ once again, announcing a whole host of UK dates, one of which is a rather intimate gig right here in Manchester.
It’s official: one of UK rap’s leading gents is getting back on the road and he’s showing a ‘Little More Love’ to lots of cities, including Manchester.
In a post on the UK star’s socials, AJ Tracey trades his music persona for that of a sports pundit as he announces the dates for his upcoming tour while impersonating an F1 commentator.
Anyone looking to attend Tracey’s ‘Not Even A Tour’ can catch the star up and down the country on his over 20-date tour with a stop in Manchester as soon as this month.
The rapper has reached phenomenal heights since dropping the unforgettable ‘Ladbroke Grove’ in 2019 and is heading out across the nation to make sure everyone knows about it.
Get ready to spit bars left and right as this rapper’s discography is stacked with serious tunes like ‘Dinner Guest’, ‘West Ten’, ‘Thiago Silva’ and more.
More recently, he collaborated with Walsall’s finest Jorja Smith for a flirty garage beat also known as ‘Crush’ with the video being the two artists talking it out in a good old fashioned caff.
The latest collaboration with Smith marks the start of a new era for Mr. Live and direct as it fell in line with the announcement of his third studio album.
Titled Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, we’re sure he’ll be “building a vibe” wherever he goes and probably previewing a few exclusive tracks from his upcoming project too.
This gig may come as quite a surprise for any hardcore fans of the ‘Ladbroke Grove’ star as the venue in which he’s performing is definitely intimate only, holding just over 250 guests.
This rap giant is bringing his unbelievable beats to none other than the legendary small-cap city centre live music venue, The Deaf Institute, at the end of this month.
It’s safe to say you won’t get many more chances, if any, to see him in such a tight-knit space again.
AJ Tracey is bringing ‘Not Even A Tour’ to Deaf Institute in Manchester on 30 April, with tickets on sale Friday 4 April from 12 noon.
Emily Sergeant -
18th February 2022 
