Property

CAPITAL&CENTRIC to deliver the UK’s first ‘neighbourhood’ concept in Rochdale

The social impact developer is set to turn the former Central Retail Park site in Rochdale into a thriving new community.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 10th September 2020
CAPITAL&CENTRIC

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

“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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.”

ADVERTISEMENT

___

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

Law requiring landlords to repair hazards within 24 hours comes into effect

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Awaab Ishak

Landlords will now have 24 hours to repair hazards reported to them as a new law comes into effect across England.

The law taking effect today comes after a ‘landmark’ new social housing bill – which was given the Royal Ascent to become law in July 2023 – was proposed and approved in early January last year.

‘Awaab’s Law’ is named after Greater Manchester toddler Awaab Ishak, who tragically died in 2020 as a result of prolonged exposure to mould in his Rochdale home, a coroner ruled back in 2022, and following his death, the Government had been pledging to deliver the new reforms.

But today (Monday 27 October), the first part of the law finally comes into effect.

This means that all social landlords – generally the local council, or a housing association – will from now be required to repair any hazards which are reported to them within 24 hours.

Landlords must also investigate ‘significant’ damp and mould within 10 working days of being notified, and then make properties safe in five working days.

For both types of hazards, they must also write the findings to tenants within three working days of inspection.   

On top of that, as part of the reforms, landlords now must also consider the circumstances of tenants which could put them at risk – including young children and those with disabilities or health conditions – and alternative accommodation must also be offered if homes cannot be made safe within the required timeframes.

Awaab’s Law is being called a ‘lasting legacy’ to the two-year-old.

“Everyone deserves a safe and decent home to live in and Awaab Ishak is a powerful reminder of how this can sadly be a matter of life or death,” commented Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, as Awaab’s Law comes into effect today.   

“Awaab’s family has fought hard for change and their work to protect millions of tenants’ lives will live on as a legacy to their son.  

Read more:

“Our changes will give tenants a stronger voice and force landlords to act urgently when lives are at risk, ensuring such tragedies are never repeated.”

More of Awaab’s Law will be phased in both next year and in 2027 to make homes safer from more hazards, the Government has confirmed.

Featured Image – GMP / Family Handout

Property

Behind the doors of the eclectic £1.75m Victorian villa that’s BACK on the market in a leafy Manchester suburb

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Fancy a look inside an eclectic Victorian villa that’s now BACK on the market in a sought-after Manchester suburb?

The only thing is, you’ll need the small matter of £1.75 million before you can call it yours.

Of course, it goes without saying that the vast majority of people reading this article won’t have £1.95 million just sitting in their bank accounts right now, but if like us, you’ve got no shame in admitting you love looking at houses you can’t afford in places you’ll probably never live, then allow us to introduce you to this absolute stunner.

Take a look behind the grand front door of one of the finest properties the Manchester housing market has to offer at the moment.

This eclectic Victorian villa is on the market in a leafy Manchester suburb for £1.95m / Credit: Inigo (via Rightmove)

This stunning detached villa is situated on a prime residential street in Whalley Range, which is one of south Manchester’s affluent suburbs, known and loved for its wide range of amenities, good local schools, public transport links across Greater Manchester, and green spaces such as the popular Alexandra Park.

Built in 1885, the house sits among a number of grand Victorian villas built around Alexandra Park to serve the wealthy merchants and bankers looking to escape the smog of city centre.

Spanning some 3,854 sq ft, the main house has seven bedrooms and ample living space arranged across four floors, all of which estate agents describe as being “impeccably designed”, while at its rear is a recently-renovated annexe, and a landscaped garden with an established kitchen garden.

While still being steeped in history, the house has undergone an extensive restoration programme over the past decade by its current owner.

The property has undergone extensive restorations over the last decade / Credit: Inigo (via Rightmove)

Decorated to the highest of standards across all four floors, the current owner has managed to respect the Victorian sensibilities of the building, while still introducing a rich colour and material palette.

You enter the historic villa through the arched entry of the original porch, with all of the rooms and staircases situated off the grand hallway.

Some of the property’s stand-out features have to be the array of original fireplaces and bay windows, ornate ceilings, and decorative tiled floors, as well as the accommodations themselves, of course, which include a bespoke kitchen-diner, and seven spacious bedrooms, many with en-suite bathrooms and even one with a purpose-built walk-in-wardrobe.

If all of that wasn’t impressive enough as it is, the property also boasts its very-own retro cinema room and treatment space on the lower ground floor too.

Then, through a Victorian garden wall is where you’ll find the coach house, which sits separate from the main house, and has recently been built as a standalone guest space – with a kitchen, shower room, and mezzanine sleeping area above.

The property’s excellence only continues when you step outside into the garden / Credit: Inigo (via Rightmove)

The property’s excellence only continues when you step outside into the garden.

The garden has been landscaped to make the most of its large corner plot, with a decked area that unfolds from the sunroom and leads down to a lawn that’s bordered by clipped privacy hedging.

The star of the show, however, has to be the kitchen garden, which the current owner has implemented in raised beds, partly shaded by established climbing grape vines which you’ll find are full of fruit in the summer.

Like what you see? Well thankfully, the property is now BACK on the market, and for cheaper too.

Read more:

This property on Alexandra Road South is currently on the market with Tyldsley-based independent estate agents, Jamie Burke – powered by eX – for a Guide Price of a whopping £1.75 million, and if you fancy taking a closer look, then you can contact the property company to arrange a viewing.

Or you could just take the cheaper route instead and have a nosy at the Rightmove link here.

Featured image – Inigo

More Property

L&Q at Victoria Riverside in Redbank

Manchester

Major up-and-coming Manchester neighbourhood to debut Shared Ownership apartments

New social club and games bar coming to Manchester

Business

A massive bowling, games and entertainment bar is coming to Manchester next year

An incredible boat house right on the water’s edge in the Lake District has gone up for sale - for a whopping £2.25m

Property

An incredible boat house right on the water’s edge in the Lake District has gone up for sale – for a whopping £2.25m

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches