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.

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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.

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“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.

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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

A look at Embassy Village as construction on Manchester’s homeless housing project begins

Danny Jones Danny Jones Embassy Village for homeless people in Manchester work started

Work has officially begun on Manchester’s long-rumoured Embassy Village, a new living quarters designed specifically to house the local homeless community.

Set to be the largest purpose-built village of its kind in the UK, the hope is to provide short to medium-term housing for up to 40 rough sleepers in the Greater Manchester area.

Planning permission for the £4 million project proposed by the Embassy Charity was handed down back in 2021 and enabling works have been gradually taking place, with the land now fully prepped for construction to begin.

Officially breaking ground on Tuesday, 19 November, developers and regeneration specialists Peel Waters shared the first images from the site as well as concept artwork for what the district will look like once completed.

The 4.5-acre brownfield site sits beneath 22 railway arches just off the Egerton Street Bridge near Castlefield and the bustling Regent Road which heads towards Salford. Although it was initially said rooms would be made from shipping containers, the units will now be proper purpose-built structures.

Designed to house homeless and vulnerable people living in and around Manchester within individual units, Embassy Village is a joint non-profit venture by both Peel Waters and well-known property company Capital&Centric.

Contractor Vermont Group will be taking on the construction for free, with around 50 organisations offering their services pro bono, including AEW Architects, Planit and Jon Matthews Architects, who helped design the living quarters and wider communal space from the ground up.

Aiming to create a genuinely beneficial community environment, with those staying there able to access green spaces, mini-allotment plots, sports facilities; counselling services, laundry rooms, computer spaces and tonnes more, they’ve come a long way from offering tour bus beds to the homeless.

Residents will also start off on the right path towards getting back on their feet and those staying there will be required to carry out six hours of training per week in things like shopping, cooking, budgeting and other key life skills.

Speaking on the first day of proper construction, Peel Waters‘ director James Whittaker said: “Today’s launch event is an important milestone, marking years of hard work and collaboration to deliver the UK’s first purpose-built community village…”

He went on to thank all of those who have backed the plans so far, including Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham, who has already applauded it as a “fantastic idea.”

With several local organisations either offering their help for free or contribute by donating to the project, the speed at which work can now move is increasing and it is expected that the 24 homes, as well as the central ‘village hall’ space, will be finished within the next 10 months.

The aim is for Embassy Village to be completed in its entirety by the end of 2025 and with more and more businesses being invited to help with the development along the way, the amount of resources and manpower is only looking like it will increase with approximately £1m still needed to fully bring it to life.

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Cooperating with the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, which specialises in helping the homeless through its ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, Embassy are now working on finding long-term funding for the village’s operational costs once it is up and running.

Another key benefactor is The Moulding Foundation, an organisation dedicated to alleviating social inequalities, who donated £3.5m to support the village’s construction.

Co-founder, Jodie Moulding, told Prolific North: “For most people, access to housing, healthcare, and education is a given – but for others, it is a privilege…

“It has taken an unbelievable amount of time, effort, and energy to get to this point, so finally breaking ground is a huge milestone for everyone involved in bringing Embassy Village to life.”

As for Embassy themselves the charity’s director, Sid Williams, added: “Special thanks go to Matt and Jodie Moulding for their financial backing and the teams at Peel Waters, Capital&Centric, the Mayor’s Charity and Manchester City Council for making this happen.”

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Peel Waters (supplied)

Property

This Manchester suburb has just been named one of the UK’s ‘happiest’ places to live in 2024

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia Didsbury named one of the best places to live in the UK

An annual poll has named the Manchester suburb of Didsbury spot among 70 locations said to be the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.

Greater Manchester has got lots to say for itself, especially with its diverse and unique cultural landscapes, as well as various vibrant communities, so it comes as no surprise that one of our beautiful suburbs has been voted in a list of the UK’s happiest places to live for this year.

The survey included submissions from 5,000 people and there’s a lot of love being shown to the neighbouring areas of Yorkshire like Doncaster, Bingley, and Harrogate – the lattermost placed in second in the entire country.

But, ranking 62nd out of a possible 70 places, the distinct and vibrant area of Didsbury has been noticed by Furniturebox as one of the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.

Credit: The Manc Group

The results took into consideration good state schools, affordable housing, as well as accessibility to pubs, bars, restaurants, independent shops, retailers and more.

With multiple parks, walking destinations, and top-notch travel links with Bee Network trams and buses easily taking you back into the city centre and out to other boroughs, East, West and Didsbury Village all remain some of the most sought-after areas in the region.

There’s a whole host of indie retailers to enjoy, especially on the likes of the main high street and Burton Road, which effectively serves as its own cultural district, home to vintage clothing shops like Steranko, tailored styling opticians Fox Brothers and much more.

Burton Rd also boasts countless fantastic food and drink spots like The Great Kathmandu, SANTÉ, Volta and Proove Pizza, just to name a few; we’ve spent plenty of time just on this stretch of Didsbury alone.

If you’ve spent even a little time in Dids, you’ll know there’s plenty going on and it’s certainly one our happiest places in all of Greater Manchester and therefore the UK.

You can also enjoy the famous ‘Didsbury Dozen’ right on your doorstep.

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Elsewhere, and somewhat unsurprisingly, Shakespeare’s ever-romanticised hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon once again reigned supreme at the top of this list.

That being said, it’s refreshing to see that these locations weren’t entirely related to wealth and similar factors, the survey took affordability into careful consideration.

Cheshire was destined for success with its cracking views and grand properties, as the North West county made waves for the region managing to place in fifth position, holding up against Falmouth in Cornwall which placed in sixth.

Although not nabbing that all-important top spot, Didsbury is carrying the flag for 0161 and showing what all know to be true: Northerners do it best.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images – The Manc Group

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