Property

A ‘pioneering’ Pollard Street scheme is to bring a wealth of social benefits to Manchester

A planning application has been submitted for an "outstanding, dynamic and creative" workplace development in New Islington.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 7th October 2020
General Projects

A planning application has been submitted for an “outstanding, dynamic and creative” workplace development in the New Islington neighbourhood of Manchester.

With nearly £8m of social value set to be generated for the local community over a five year period, developers say the project will “set a new standard for social impact in the city”.

Subject to approval from Manchester City Council, developer General Projects will create a five building campus that will ultimately bring 3,500 jobs to the area, alongside over 100 SMEs together with a mix of innovative blue-chip companies.

General Projects’ vision for Pollard Street – which is its first development in the city – is for “an inclusive, modern, innovative and sustainable commercial destination” with space available within the campus ranging from micro-units, to Grade-A creative innovation offices, meaning it will appeal to ambitious start-ups, fast growing SMEs and more established businesses.

All organisations located at the development will share a common commitment to supporting local people through “community give back” initiatives, such as mentoring, training, employment or supporting apprenticeships.

ADVERTISEMENT

Located alongside the Ashton Canal and inspired by the city’s historic cotton and textile mills, the development – which is designed by architects Hawkins\Brown and landscape architects Planit.IE – will deliver over two acres of “new, exceptional public space” as the area benefits from a £5m investment into landscape and green space
to create a better, healthier and safer environment.

The sustainable credentials of Pollard Street will be underpinned by its car free policy, low carbon transport links and an innovative low-carbon approach to construction and operation.

ADVERTISEMENT

Over 50 new trees will be planted on site and 550 bike spaces will also be provided as the development delivers a 30% net gain in biodiversity.

General Projects


General Projects’ vision is further emphasised by its commitment to “setting a new standard for social investment through the built environment” and this includes forming a new Community Wealth Partnership with Manchester City Council, which will see the delivery of a range of targeted social initiatives, including:

  • Mentoring programmes for local young people and businesses.
  • Free workspace for local start-ups.
  • Apprenticeship and internship programmes to tackle local unemployment.
  • Commitments to generate over 5,000 hours of community voluntary work per year.
  • A programme of regular events including school open days to skills and training events.

General Projects has adopted a ‘Manchester-first’ procurement policy – with at least 25% of supply chain spend in Greater Manchester – and during construction, an estimated £200,000 in social value will be generated from apprenticeships, work experience days, site open days and other voluntary, community and social enterprise commitments.

ADVERTISEMENT

It has already forged links with local schools, grassroots organisations and community charities to ensure that social value will directly benefit the immediate area as part of the company’s commitment to creating a lasting legacy in the city.

Jacob Loftus – Founder and CEO of General Projects – said: “We are thrilled and excited to be bringing our plans for Pollard Street forward. We have been eager to work in Manchester for a long time and while we know the
pandemic will bring challenges for the local economy in the short term, it remains a city alive with an extraordinary buzz of enterprise, innovation and culture.

“At Pollard Street, we see the opportunity to do something unique and with a very significant social impact to really drive the recovery forward by creating new opportunities for start-ups, entrepreneurs and local people.

“We hope to set a new benchmark for delivering transformative social value through the built environment [and] we’re currently liaising with Manchester City Council and other local partners in order to ensure every aspect of the scheme helps support the local area, whether that’s through job creation or improving the local environment.

“We see our role as developer and building operator and also an enabler in terms of community engagement and social impact by removing many of the barriers that prevent a lot of businesses wanting to put something back into their local area from doing so.”

You can find more information about Pollard Street via the General Projects’ website here.

Property

Transformational plans set to be approved for ‘major’ new Manchester city centre park

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

‘Transformational’ plans to regenerate an underused Manchester city centre site are set to be approved next week.

Following ‘overwhelming’ public support for proposals set out in a public consultation earlier this year – where more than 90% of respondents supported the key principles – Manchester City Council says its executive is expected approve an ambitious vision for the Water Street neighbourhood at a meeting next week (Weds 8 July).

The Water Street Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) is set to create a city centre district developed around a new urban park. 

The SRF is described as being a ‘high-level blueprint’ for future investment that will guide development through the planning process.

The plans are comprised of a new landscape-led neighbourhood that combines homes – including 20% of them being ‘affordable’ – improved public spaces, enhanced walking and cycling connections, and ‘significant’ new green infrastructure centred around the River Medlock. 

Sustainability was highlighted as an area of importance to local residents in the consultation, and to meet these demands, the plans include increased biodiversity, sustainable drainage features, and a largely car-free neighbourhood to support Manchester’s zero-carbon ambitions, as well as the new urban park being at the heart of it all.

The new neighbourhood will also offer plenty of new jobs, skills, and investment opportunities. 

“The wider Water Street area has seen major regeneration in recent years with world-class investment at St John’s and Aviva Studios on its doorstep, alongside impressive residential developments,” explained Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration.

Read more:

“This renewed regeneration framework will help guide investment to bring this area up to the same ambitious level with new housing, including affordable housing to create an inclusive new neighbourhood, complemented by a brand-new city centre urban park.”

Featured Image – Manchester City Council (Supplied)

Property

UK’s most popular commuter towns named and four are in Greater Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Houses

The UK’s most popular commuter towns have been named, and four of them are here in Greater Manchester.

Where are the most popular commuter towns in the UK right now?

Well, new data collated based on the number of people enquiring about available properties on Rightmove has revealed the locations where buyer demand is highest, and with Manchester being one of the largest cities in the country, of course there’s some Greater Manchester towns on the list.

Rightmove says that choosing the best commuter town requires buyers to balance a number of factors – including property prices, travel times, and local lifestyle.

To narrow it down, the property platform has chosen to focus on commuter towns within a 45-minute rail journey to the target city, and with at least 20,000 people living there.

For Manchester, it’s Stockport that’s taken the title as the city’s most popular commuter town, as amazinly, it generated 70% more enquiries per listing than Manchester itself.

New build houses
The UK’s most popular commuter towns have been named / Credit: James Feaver (via Unsplash) | Manchester City Council

Being just an eight-minute journey from Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport has an average property price of £308,299.

Elsewhere in Greater Manchester, the picturesque Stockport town of Marple takes second spot on the list, while the Tameside town of Stalybridge comes in third place, and Rochdale also features in the top five, alongside Warrington – which is just outside of our region’s borders, but is only a short 22-minute train journey into the city centre.

Transport options is obviously one of the most important factors in what makes a town a so-called ‘commuter town’.

Stockport benefits from around six fast trains per hour, while Stalybridge and Rochdale offer four per hour. Marple is less frequent at two per hour but still attracts strong interest, likely due to its lifestyle appeal and stunning setting on the edge of the Peak District.

Read more:

Price growth has been strong across most of the Manchester commuter towns, with Stalybridge (+6.1%) and Rochdale (+5.8%) seeing notable increases year-on-year.

However, average prices for four out of the five commuter locations on the list were higher than the average Manchester property price (£261,891), suggesting that lifestyle factors were a stronger draw for Manchester’s surrounding towns.

Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)

More Property

Bolton

The £1.6m Bolton mansion with the most incredible garden is BACK on the market

Art & Culture

First look at Heaton Hall’s ‘glittering’ restoration as it prepares to reopen to public

Manchester

Council calls on Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches