Social impact developer CAPITAL&CENTRIC is set to redevelop the former Central Retail Park site in Rochdale into a thriving new community.
As featured on BBC2’s Manctopia: Billion Pound Property Boom, the brownfield site will be the first in the UK to deliver CAPITAL&CENTRIC’s new housing concept ‘Neighbourhood’, which is in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency.
Neighbourhood Rochdale will include over 200 suburban homes for rent, including a mix of modern, spacious and low carbon homes. Designed by shedkm to be a sustainable exemplar, it will also include a linear park, running track, gym and community hub alongside community space such as café-bars and delis.
The site – which has been vacant for nearly a decade and was previously occupied by Wynsors, Focus and MFI – is a short walk from both the train station, which offers an easy commute into Manchester city centre, and Rochdale town centre.
The plans are part of the transformation of Rochdale town centre, which is in the middle of a £400m regeneration programme.
Councillor John Blundell – Cabinet member for Regeneration, Business, Skills and Employment at Rochdale Borough Council, board member at the Rochdale Development Agency, and chair of the Rochdale Stations Alliance – said: “With millions already invested into Rochdale town centre, we’ve set the bar very high in terms of want to achieve here and this type of high quality housing is the perfect fit.
“To see the first large scheme come forward from Rochdale’s Rail Corridor strategy is a major milestone and shows the commitment to the strategy.
“The work we’re doing to create a high quality retail and leisure offer and a reimagined public realm, makes Rochdale a really attractive place to live and I know that these will be the first of many new homes to be built in Rochdale.”
Adam Higgins – co-founder of CAPITAL&CENTRIC – said: “Many Greater Manchester towns have been hit hard by the declining high street but there’s a huge opportunity for places like Rochdale to reinvent themselves with town centre living. The council have a really ambitious vision to transform the town centre and we’re working with them to create an aspirational community with super energy efficient homes, game changing architecture and all the amenities that will attract people to town centre living.”
Designed to breathe life back into struggling town centres, the Neighbourhood concept could be rolled out by CAPITAL&CENTRIC across the UK.
It aims to reinvent suburban living by designing homes and communities that suit how people live today.
Using modern methods of construction and with open-plan, design-led homes that maximise the use of space, Neighbourhood is a challenge to generic, out-dated housing types that focuses on curating mixed communities for people of all ages.
It goes beyond thinking just about housing, and includes workspaces, community hubs and amenities.
Adam Higgins continued: “Neighbourhood is our way of bridging the gap between urban and suburban living. An antidote to poor quality, out-dated and uninspiring housing types, it recognises that people want to live in communities not just homes, so in Rochdale, we’re planning plenty of green space, a community hub and café-bar.
With easy links into Manchester and a proper mix of homes, we see it appealing just as much to young professionals as downsizers ands it’ll also be pretty unique in that it’s suburban homes but all of them will be for rent.”
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A planning application for Neighbourhood Rochdale is expected early next year.
It will be built by leading construction company Willmott Dixon – who recently completed the £80 million retail and leisure development nearby at Rochdale Riverside – and the site investigation works have started on site this week.
You can find more information via the CAPITAL&CENTRIC website here.
Property
Hundreds of new homes in Mayfield Park given green light
Daisy Jackson
The chance to live in Manchester city centre’s newest park (and one of its only green spaces) has taken a step closer, with plans for new Mayfield Park homes given the green light.
879 apartments have been approved this week, which will have ‘the ultimate front garden’.
The Mayfield district has been undergoing major changes in the last few years, including the redevelopment of Depot Mayfield (into Freight Island, plus a music venue for events like Warehouse Project) and the opening of the beautiful Mayfield Park.
And now hundreds of new one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes will be added to the area, as well as a 40% increase in the size of the park.
The plans for the first homes at Mayfield Park were met with unanimous approval by the City Council’s Planning Committee.
The residences will span across four buildings, with low-rise elements peppered in amongst the taller blocks, and will also be home to restaurants, cafes, and health and wellness facilities.
A new tree-lined road through the development will enhance walking and cycling connectivity from east Manchester into the city centre.
More than 880 jobs will be generated during the construction phase, plus 120 full-time jobs when operational.
Hundreds of new homes in Mayfield Park given green light. Credit: Assembly Studios
The proposals suggest that the apartments will contribute £2 million annually in Council Tax and a major £10 million boost to local businesses through increased spending.
The high-quality homes are designed by Studio Egret West and shedkm, designed to reflect the industrial heritage of the area, including distinctive arches.
20% of the first phase of homes are intended to be classed as affordable housing and will be prioritised for key workers in Manchester.
Henrietta Nowne, Development Director at Landsec, representing The Mayfield Partnership, said: “For the first time, Mancunians will have the ultimate back garden within the award-winning Mayfield Park.
“An opportunity like this hasn’t existed before in Manchester. Since starting on site earlier this month, there’s real momentum building as we continue to grow a green, healthy and connected district in the heart of Manchester.”
The approval marks the next chapter of the continued transformation of the Mayfield district near Piccadilly Station, led by Manchester City Council, TfGM, London Continental Railways (LCR), and Landsec.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and more near Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
There’s a million-pound Victorian-style mansion that has 10 bedrooms and its own personal swimming pool just outside of Greater Manchester.
Just like the childhood nursery rhyme, “There were three in the bed and the little one said… there’s another seven beds, roll over!” or at least that’s how they remember it in this character property.
Located in Warrington, less than an hour away from Manchester city centre, this property is a semi-detached Victorian property built in 1860, with 10 bedrooms and its own private swimming pool, all spread across four floors.
As soon as you enter the foyer, your eyes are drawn to the sleek silver chandelier before you notice the grand staircase, which feels like a piece of living history.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms and a swimming pool near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market)
The ground floor hosts two of a whopping 10 bedrooms alongside a teal-toned farmhouse-style kitchen and that extremely impressive swimming pool with its own built-in projector.
In the kitchen, the focal point is the large wrap-around kitchen unit, which is accompanied by a variety of hanging lights and a big central island.
On the way to the swimming pool, there are a handful of lockers identical to those found in a leisure and as you enter the room, your eyes are drawn to the island-inspired feature wall.
Venture upstairs to the first floor and you’re greeted by five spacious bedrooms with one having its own en-suite while the rest share a main bathroom.
Each of these bedrooms follows a completely different design style, with the largest following a muted grey palette with pops of yellow thanks to the artwork and bed accessories.
The grand staircase and one of ten bedrooms inside this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
As you go upstairs again, you’ll find (you guessed it) even more bedrooms, three to be exact, with the standout
The stand-out of this second floor is the navy-walled bedroom with a vintage vanity unit, patterned floor-to-ceiling curtains and a similarly dark-blue rug to match its four walls.
Another flight of stairs and you’ve finally reached the top of this property, and there’s an LED-lined ceiling and a neutral bedroom colour scheme of greys, whites and everything in between.
There are various amenities nearby, including three schools and three train stations… for if you get fed up of strolling around your four-floored ten-bed, swimming pool-owning mansion.
Two contrasting bedrooms found within this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
We know this property may not be in the price range and might not be affordable for a lot of readers, ourselves included, but we can dream, right?
You can check out this Victorian mansion and flick through even more pictures of this property – Snooping never hurt anybody? Official site HERE.
As always, make sure to check out The Manc‘s property page to check all the other stunning structures currently on sale/in progress across Greater Manchester and in the nearby North West.
Emily Sergeant -
10th September 2020 
