Plans for a new £50 million neighbourhood in Manchester’s Ancoats could see a disused storage depot turned into a new canalside district for city dwellers.
Submitted to Manchester City Council by developers Capital&Centric and Kamani Property Group, if successful they would see hundreds of new canalside apartments, townhouses and gardens take over the currently empty space.
Plans also include room for gardens and a new cafe bar or store, to be used by residents as a community hang out.
New images submitted as part of the plans show proposed designs for the new neighbourhood, which would include 193 homes with a mixture of 1 and 2-bed apartments, 3-bed duplexes and townhouses fronting onto Carruthers Street.
It’s the second collaboration between the two Manchester-based developers, who have teamed up to breathe new life into the historic site. If approved, work could start on site in early 2023.
Fusing together old and new, projected images should reassure local history buffs that the iconic Ancoats Works frontage on Pollard Street will be retained.
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Inside, meanwhile, new apartments will feature a modern twist on the red-brick buildings that have long dominated the area – the home of industry in Manchester for hundreds of years.
Further plans include restoring the unloved canalside, by creating a lush new garden with pretty lighting and lush foliage.
Speaking on the new development plans Adam Kamani, CEOat Kamani Property, said: “We think this community will be a really vibrant addition to Ancoats as it grows.
“The design strikes the perfect blend between old and new – retaining parts of the historic building with the iconic ‘Ancoats Works’ signage, whilst creating design-led homes on what’s currently a pretty unloved, industrial site.
“As well as new homes, we plan to deliver stunning outdoor spaces and improve the canalside, making the space much more welcoming with real character.”
Adam Higgins, co-founder at Capital&Centric, said: “At our communities in Piccadilly East and Kampus, we’ve seen first-hand that Manchester’s diverse neighbourhoods are attracting a real mix of people wanting to put down roots in the city.
“More and more, young families, retirees and downsizers are wanting to call the city home, as well as the more stereotypical young professionals.
“Ancoats Works responds to that, with a mix of townhouses and apartments to help foster a diverse neighbourhood, as well as spaces like the corner café bar and gardens where a genuine community can bond and grow. We’re excited about getting going.”
Submission of the Ancoats Works application follows community consultation last year. The collaboration follows the two companies joining up on plans for a site on Swan Street in the Northern Quarter, consented by Manchester City Council in 2021.
Feature image – Supplied
City Centre
Elbow teams up with Co-op Live to donate equipment to Manchester grassroots venues
Thomas Melia
Bury band Elbow have joined forces with Manchester’s biggest indoor arena, Co-op Live, in aid of supporting local grassroots venues.
The funds will help improve the already incredible music scene in Manchester, benefitting staples likes Night and Day Café, Matt and Phred’s Jazz Club, SOUP and more.
All of the donations will be distributed across six independent music venues and will be used for various instruments, PA equipment, backline technology and other necessities depending on the requirements of each site.
Elbow have teamed up with Co-op Live in aid of supporting Manchester grassroots venues.Credit: Supplied
This initiative has been keeping Manchester’s Northern Quarter in the forefront of people’s minds when it comes to live music as well as the impressive Co-op Live.
Alongside providing vital resources for these local institutions, Elbow teaming up with Co-op Live also helps cement the North West as one of the main powerhouses in relation to live music.
The latest efforts from the largest indoor arena in Manchester fall in line with celebrating one year of bringing some of the best live music to the city, being officially open for 12 months in May.
Co-op Live have made a commitment to the people and the planet, promising to donate £1 million annually to the Co-op Foundation.
The stunning Co-op Live venue, Manchester’s largest indoor arena.Elbow performing at Co-op Live, marking history as the first act to grace the venue.Credit: Audio North/Supplied
Manchester’s latest live music venue also contributed significantly to selected charities, including Happy Doggo – chosen by Liam Gallagher and Eric Clapton’s addiction recovery centre, Crossroads.
As Elbow teams up with Co-op Live, even more money is making its way to necessary resources, this time in the likes of crucial live music establishments.
Elbow front-person Guy Garvey says: “Playing Co-op Live’s opening night will stay with us for a lifetime, not least because of how incredible the room sounded.”
“When the venue donated funds in our name to support the city we love, it made complete sense to carry that through to the Northern Quarter and to venues that have meant so much to my bandmates and I throughout our career.”
Guy Dunstan, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Co-op Live, adds: “In the past year, I have been proud to see Co-op Live become an integral part of such an incredible city.”
“Teaming up with Elbow to directly support the venues that first put Manchester on the map, and to share something so intrinsic to us as venues – proper sound – is something truly special.”
Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon to kick off UK tour in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Multi award-winning musical Sunny Afternoon is set to kick off its UK tour here in Manchester later this year.
Following a sell-out run at Hampstead Theatre, the musical production featuring all the hit songs by legendary rock band The Kinks opened to critical acclaim at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End, where it ran for two years ahead of its sensational UK and Ireland tour throughout 2016/17.
It also collected four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in Music for Ray Davies, along the way.
Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon is kicking off its UK tour in Manchester / Credit: ATG Tickets
Set against the backdrop of Britain on the cusp of the rebellious 60s,Sunny Afternoon is described as being an ‘exhilarating and moving’ celebration of the music, life, and the band that changed it all, The Kinks.
Sunny Afternoon celebrates The Kinks’ raw energy, passion, and timeless sound.
Charting the ‘euphoric highs’ and ‘agonising lows’, the smash-hit production tells the band’s story through an incredible back catalogue of chart-toppers – including ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Lola’, ‘All Day and All of the Night’, and of course, ‘Sunny Afternoon’ itself.
Tickets are on sale now from just £15 each / Credit: Kevin Cummins
Producers Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG Productions announced last week that the show would be returning for another UK tour later this year, and it’ll be opening right here on one of Manchester‘s most iconic stages.
The hit musical will open at Manchester’s Palace Theatre on 10 October 2025 and it will run right through until 18 October.
Sunny Afternoon has music and lyrics, and an original story, all by the band’s frontman Ray Davies, along with a book by Joe Penhall, direction by Edward Hall, design by Miriam Buether, and choreography by Adam Cooper.