Plans have been revealed for a new 18-storey tower in Manchester city centre, complete with a rooftop pool.
The Alberton will be the latest development from Bruntwood, who want to build a ‘revolutionary’ workspace and leisure destination.
The £93m development would replace the existing Alberton House on St Mary’s Parsonage, the site of the first Manchester Gas Works.
Plans include a rooftop holistic wellness centre, which would house the UK’s highest workspace pool as well as a hydrotherapy vitality pool, hot and cold treatment rooms, a fitness studio, a yoga terrace, a physio room, and shower and changing facilities.
On the 17th floor, there’ll be a panoramic roof terrace with views across the city, and a food and beverage outlet.
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The Alberton. Credit: Supplied
The Alberton would be the flagship building for Bruntwood Works’ Pioneer programme
It’s being designed by EPR Architects, who are creating a ‘modern reimagining’ of Manchester’s Victorian cotton mills.
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The work on the site is set to begin later this year ahead of an early 2025 completion.
Taking place nearby, also within Manchester City Council’s St. Mary’s Parsonage Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF), is the redevelopment of the grade-II listed Kendal Milne building, Bruntwood’s Blackfriars House, and King’s House, which is currently undergoing redevelopment.
The Alberton’s 17th floor roof terrace. Credit: Supplied
The plans propose the demolition of the existing Alberton House, which has been identified as an energy-inefficient 1960s office building.
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When complete, The Alberton’s ground floor will connect the Trinity Bridge walkway and Motor Square, with a hospitality offering across the entire floor including a restaurant, bar and coffee shop.
Completing the plans are a screening and cinema room, a flexible event space, a cycle hub with showers, and Brompton bike lockers, as well as the 17th floor roof terrace.
Ciara Keeling, CEO of Bruntwood Works, commented: “The Alberton is going to revolutionise workspace, not just in Manchester but across the UK. It is a development that supports integrating wellbeing into customer’s daily lives to encourage a positive work/life balance.
“This is evident in our plans to create a holistic wellbeing centre that will act as the focal point of the entire development, including a rooftop pool with panoramic views of the city.
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“We understand that the way we work and live has changed for the long-term, so we wanted to give our customers a space that suits their changing needs and helps to promote a working environment where they can thrive professionally, but also personally.
“Our Pioneer programme has always recognised the need to incorporate best-in-class wellness and amenity credentials within the workspace, and The Alberton will offer the pinnacle of this. We are proud to be able to deliver a world-class workplace and leisure destination to Manchester as it continues to compete on a global stage for inward investment.”
Featured image: Supplied
Property
More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Featured Image – James Feaver (via Unsplash)
Property
Two Greater Manchester towns have been named in The Sunday Times’ best places to live
Thomas Melia
Esteemed UK newspaper The Sunday Times’ has published its list of the ‘Best places to live in the UK 2025’, and it features two Greater Manchester boroughs.
Us Mancs didn’t need anymore clarification to know that where we live is incredible but we’ll always take it, especially when the compliment is coming from none other than The Sunday Times.
The publication revealed its annual guide of ‘Best places to live 2025’ which featured more than 70 different locations throughout the nation.
Although we may have been pipped to the top spot, Greater Manchester is featured not once, but twice, which is pretty impressive.
Claiming the victory this year is the market town with a name as pretty as its surroundings, Saffron Walden, which is only 15 miles from Cambridge.
The locations were ranked through a number of key categories including transport, house prices, broadband, schools and a new addition, mobile signal.
All the contributors to the full list acknowledge the obvious missing puzzle piece,food, and we know if this was factored in a few more Greater Manchester locations may have nabbed the ‘Best places to live’ honour.
The first Greater Manchester based entry is The Heatons, a hotspot nestled between the city centreand the city of Stockport, which is actually four neighbourhoods – Heaton Chapel, Mersey, Moor and Norris.
These areas are home to living history in the form of the iconic century old Savoy Cinema and lots of open green spaces.
Food may have been missed off The Sunday Times’ list but it certainly didn’t go a miss on ours.
Mossley has been named on The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list. Credit: Instagram, @ariadneexploresThe Heatons also made the list. Credit: Instagram, @fourtheheatons
The second spot which managed to grab the title of ‘Best places to live 2025’ is Mossley, a town packed to the brim with cosy cottages, blissful walks and a close-knit friendly community.
It’s not too far from Dovestone Reservoir and the Peak District National Park – when you’ve got all this greenery on your doorstep you’re bound to be in a good mood.
Our friends over in Leeds at The Hoothave lots to cheer about as Ilkley, Hebden Bridge, Easingwold and Ripon all got a mention.
You can find out the full rundown on all the spots up and down the country that have been selected as part of ‘The Sunday Times’ Best places to live for 2025′ HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
14th July 2022 
