Property

CAPITAL&CENTRIC and Kamani Property Group submit plans for new Swan Street community

The partnership are planning to create a new £37m community in Manchester’s New Cross district.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 15th January 2021
CAPITAL&CENTRIC / Kamani Property Group / Hawkins\Brown

CAPITAL&CENTRIC and Kamani Property Group have this week confirmed the submission of plans for the new Swan Street community.

Social impact developer CAPITAL&CENTRIC – which recently featured in the BBC2 documentary Manctopia – has submitted a planning application for a £37 million scheme to create a new community in Manchester’s New Cross district in partnership with Kamani Property Group.

Located opposite the Mackie Mayor food hall and iconic Band on the Wall venue, the scheme will transform thesite on Swan Street – which CAPITAL&CENTRIC purchased with Kamani Property last year, and is currently home to two derelict buildings, once used as a MOT garage and a storage facility – into 118 new homes, with a mix of one, two and three bed design-led apartments.

There will be ground floor workspaces and spaces for local businesses to locate, such as a café-bar or deli.

A shared roof terrace and private roof terraces for residents are also planned, as the developers look to maximise outdoor space [and] with a striking design, it will also feature a huge 270m art canvas on the front of the building – which will be one of the largest in the city and will showcase local and international artists.

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Speaking on the plans for the new community, Tim Heatley – Co-Founder of CAPITAL&CENTRIC – said: “New Cross used to be a thriving location in the 18th and 19th century, and its due to have its day again. The area’s already attracting indie businesses and the same is going to happen with residents wanting to be part of the growing neighbourhood.

“As you’d probably expect from us, we’ve gone for a bold design with a huge art canvas on the building.

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“We want people to stop and look and for it to become a talking point. Architecture should be interesting and draw people in – we’re not interested in building a bland boring building”.

Adam Kamani – CEO of Kamani Property – said: “Manchester runs through our veins and we’re proud to be part of the New Cross district’s resurgence.

“The city centre has been through a tough and unprecedented year tackling COVID-19, but we’re looking forwards to the comeback and recovery. As a business we’re keen to play our part in helping Manchester to thrive again [and] the submission of our plans with CAPITAL&CENTRIC to breathe new life into an under-loved part of the city with boundless potential is a great way to kick off 2021.”

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Tom Dobson, Associate Director at Hawkins\Brown – the architects behind the scheme – said: “Swan Street is a fantastic opportunity to provide a new landmark destination with a layered architectural response, designed to offer a mixed use scheme of high-quality homes activated at ground level by commercial premises and enhanced public realm.”

The New Cross district is bound by Swan Street, Oldham Road, Rochdale Road, and Livesey Street.

In 2015, Manchester City Council approved a Neighbourhood Development Framework for New Cross to guide future development and create a vibrant new residential led neighbourhood, and the planning application submission by CAPITAL&CENTRIC and Kamani Property Group this week follows a public consultation, which was held during December.

A decision on the planning application is expected from Manchester City Council in the Spring.

Property

This unassuming house in Altrincham has a hidden hillside Hobbit house in the garden

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

From this outside, this home in Altrincham looks pretty normal – at street-level it just looks like your standard suburban dormer bungalow, albeit with some fairly stunning architecture.

But head around to the back garden, and there’s a surprise in store, for included in its £4.5m price tag is an actual Hobbit house, buried into the hillside.

The adorable addition comes complete with round wooden door, stone walls, and a tiny bench outside.

It appears that the current owners are using it as a cosy den or office space.

That’s not all in that massive one-acre garden either – there’s also a safari-style tree hut wedged up on stilts, accessed up a wooden spiral staircase from a decked area.

Then you get to the rest of the house in Trafford, which is way, way bigger than it looks from the front.

Inside the main building, there are six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and two reception rooms, plus all manner of luxury touches like dressing rooms, en suites and a utility room.

The rear of the Altrincham house with its own hobbit house.
The rear of the Altrincham home with its own Hobbit house. Credit: Savills Knutsford
The actual Hobbit house.
The actual Hobbit house. Credit: Savills Knutsford
An African treehouse on stilts in the garden.
An African treehouse on stilts in the garden. Credit: Savills Knutsford
The pool.
The pool. Credit: Savills Knutsford

The lounge is a striking focal point, built into a round extension with floor-to-ceiling windows soaking in the views of the lush gardens.

There’s also a sitting room with a pitched roof and oak beams, which, again, feels like it’s been lifted straight out of Hobbiton (though thankfully built for taller humans).

Oh, did I mention it has a pool, too?

The cosy sitting room. Credit: Savills Knutsford
The grand lounge with huge windows. Credit: Savills Knutsford
The sauna. Credit: Savills Knutsford
Views from a bedroom. Credit: Savills Knutsford

There’s a whole spa building, with an indoor pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and gymnasium/office area, with bi-fold doors opening onto the gardens and barbecue area.

It’s up for sale at £4.5m with Savills in Knutsford, who say: “This fabulous family home is situated in a desirable pocket of Bowdon in an extremely private and secure position.

“The gardens are private and extensive, extending to one acre.”

Property agent Jamie Carter added: “This really is a unique and fantastic family home. I love that there is a real life Hobbit house in the garden.”

You can see the full listing with Rightmove here.

Featured image: Savills Knutsford

Property

Plans to demolish Premier Inn and replace it with 38-storey student skyscraper approved

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

Plans to build a huge skyscraper of student accommodation have been approved, with the existing Deansgate Locks Premier Inn on the site demolished.

The plans were first submitted in November 2022, replacing the hotel on Medlock Street with a 38-storey building that will provide rooms for 1014 students. 

Also in the plans is a 13-storey office building, providing 36,000 sq m of Grade A office space. 

The proposal includes a new piece of artwork which is nine storeys tall, the artist behind which will be chosen through a competition. 

Whitbread, the company behind Premier Inn Hotels, is working with property developers Dominvs Group on the huge development.

They say they also plan to include three new public spaces – ‘The Wood’, which will resemble native UK woodland; ‘Rain Garden’, which will manage rain in a ‘playful and sustainable way’; and ‘Edge Street’, which will be a new green street with trees and ornamental plants.

They say: “Whitbread and Dominvs Group are bringing forward proposal at One Medlock Street that will contribute to the ongoing transformation at First Street, supporting a vibrant growing community, making an attractive and sustainable setting for work, living and study.

“At street level the scheme opens the site up, creating activity to enhance the pedestrian experience through a series of high-quality street and a new public realm.

“The proposed scheme is a mixed-use, office and purpose-build student accommodation scheme.

“As part of the current proposals, the Premier Inn building would be demolished and redeveloped.”

Featured image: Whitbread / Dominvs

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