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
Some visitors to Britain’s smallest house have complained on TripAdvisor that it’s ‘too small’
Emily Sergeant
The smallest house in Britain has been a popular tourist attraction for decades now, and most visitors agree that it’s exactly want it says on the tin.
But for some, it’s apparently “too small”? Yes, we’re just as confused as you are.
If you’re not familiar with the little property and what makes tens of thousands of people flock to visit it each year, The Smallest House in Great Britain can be found nestled at the end of a row of terraced houses on Conwy’s quayside in Wales, and even though it may be tiny, you really can’t miss it because the outside is painted bright red.
A national treasure that’s well worth a few minutes of your time, the tiny house stands at 122 inches tall and is only 72 inches wide, with just 1.5 sq m of usable floor space.
Although it may seem too small to live in, the house is actually extremely practical, with just enough room for a single bed, a fireplace, and a coal bunker, and it was actually occupied by several different families for more than 300 years right up until May 1900.
But ever since then, it has been visited and marvelled at by millions from around the world.
Even though the clue is in the name, it turns out that some visitors to The Smallest House in Great Britain over the years have been astonished to find out that it is, in fact, a “very small house”, and they’ve taken to TripAdvisor to air their grumbles about the size of it.
/ Credit: TripAdvisor
“Yeah….. it’s a tiny house. Nothing amazing, just a cute photo opportunity especially with kids, so if you’re in the area, just stroll by,” one review reads.
Another matter-of-fact review sums the house up quite brutally: “It’s a small house on the sea front, it’s very small and to be honest, it’s hard to fill out 100 characters as it’s not very big, says it all.”
Some reviewers also moaned that the tourist attraction is lacking in capacity and facilities, with one person claiming they “couldn’t spend more than half an hour there,” and another saying there “wasn’t enough space to turn around.”
It was also dubbed nothing more than a “small extension” by one unimpressed reviewer.
Overall, most visitors seemed to be suitably impressed by what they saw though and loved getting to experience the history, character, and period charm on offer – but one reviewer summed up the general consensus best: “Worth seeing and worth going in, but once you’ve visited, you won’t need to visit again.”
Well, fair enough.
Featured Image – Visit Conwy
Property
OnlyFans star promises to buy houses to help low-income families with affordable rent
Daisy Jackson
An OnlyFans model has said that she plans to buy up a number of homes so that she can rent them out to low-income families for a fair price.
Rebecca Goodwin, 28, says she’s launching the scheme both to help those in need and to provide an inheritance for her two daughters.
The star, who makes around £100k per month from her provocative OnlyFans content, shared the vision of her ‘affordable housing scheme’ on Twitter this week.
She said that she makes enough money from the subscription-based social media platform, but now wants to create a ‘side hustle’ that her children can inherit.
Rebecca’s plan, according to her tweet, is to buy eight homes out-right and then rent them out to families on low incomes.
The example she provided was for a three-storey, four-bedroom, three-bathroom house with off road parking for two cars, fully furnished, for £650 a month.
The ball is now rolling with my ‘affordable housing scheme’. My plan is to buy 8 properties outright and rent them out to low income families. One house I’ll be renting out is a 3 storey, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house with off road parking for 2 cars, fully furnished, £650 a month!
Originally from Mansfield in Derbyshire, Rebecca said she was previously relying on food stamps to feed her family and struggling to pay her gas and electricity bills.
But since launching her career on OnlyFans in 2019, her life has completely turned around.
In the replies on her original Tweet about her affordable housing scheme, she added some more information – including clarifying her incentives.
She said: “I make enough profit on onlyfans, I have no mortgages so rent payments are 100% profit except maintenance and insurance, this is a side hustle that my kids can inherit. I’m not doing it to make me more money I’m doing it invest in my kids futures.”
Rebecca also wrote: “It is profitable, I’m renting out houses that are already paid off, and the millions spent on the houses is still ours. I’m making £100k+ a month on onlyfans, and when it dies down/ I decide to retire, I retire with the income generated from the 8 properties.”
The houses she plans to buy will all be renovated and furnished, she wrote.
Rebecca has received a lot of praise from members of the public for her efforts.
One person said: “Now, if you, one person (who is spending their own hard earned cash to create affordable housing) can do it – why can’t the government? With the billions in taxpayer revenue? I applaud what you’re doing, you’re a kind soul, but I could cry for the state of the country rn.”
Someone else said: “This is something incredible and life changing for some families who have never had a place to call home or in a constant money struggle to keep a roof over their heads. As someone who is a year out of predicted 3 in temp housing and struggling to even rent my first prop.”
Another commented: “What a wonderful thing to do. You’re an actual diamond. I hope to be able to something like this when I’m making the same kind of money. You are such a blessing.”
Daisy Jackson -
14th July 2022 
