A building in Manchester city centre that has been labelled an ‘eyesore’ for years is set to be knocked down.
Developers had originally planned to strip down the brutalist Premier House, on the corner of Deansgate and Blackfriars Street, to its concrete frame.
It was then proposed that it would be redeveloped it into 40,000sq ft of modern office space.
But those working on the project have now found that the work to retain the structure would ‘severely impact the deliverability of the project’ and are planning to demolish it.
Plans for the Treehouse Hotel in Manchester, taking over the former Renaissance building beside Premier House. Credit: Supplied
It’s believed that keeping the existing concrete structure would create several restrictions, including limited ceiling heights.
The redevelopment of both Premier House and the former Renaissance Hotel – which closed in July 2020 – have been getting underway in recent months.
Its new life will see a new luxury hotel, Treehouse Hotel, take the place of the Renaissance.
Treehouse will include a ‘secret forest’ treehouse canopy and three new restaurants and bars, fronted by local hospitality heroes Mary-Ellen McTague, Sam Grainger, Luke Cowdrey (aka Unabomber) and Justin Crawford.
A letter from Avison Young lodged with the planning application to demolish Premier House states: “Retaining the structure of the current building and integrating it into the new office building would severely impact the deliverability of the project.”
If plans are approved, the joint venture between Property Alliance Group and Starwood Capital would instead construct a new-build alternative on the site.
Featured image: Google Maps
Property
Comedy nights, run clubs, and resident parties – why The Castings is Manchester’s most social city centre neighbourhood
Emily Sergeant
Manchester is a city full of opportunity – and The Castings is the perfect place to live to experience all it has to offer.
As the bustling hub of the north – and, arguably, the UK’s ‘second’ city, depending on who you ask – Manchester has firmly cemented itself as being somewhere people of all walks of life want to live, thanks to the wealth of live music,sport, nightlife, and so much more.
And for those who want to get amongst it, one of Manchester’s newest city centre neighbourhoods, The Castings, has a social life built right in, ready for residents to make the most of.
Currently rated number one on HomeViews, it has been voted by its residents as the best place to live in the city.
And it recently celebrated its first birthday too, in one of the ways it knows best, of course – with a free party for all residents.
A glimpse into life at The Castings’ stunning lifestyle-led apartments / Credit: The Manc Group
If you were unfamiliar withThe Castings until now, it’s a stunning community made up of 352 apartments to rent in Piccadilly East.
With its range of studio, one, two, and three-bedroom homes, The Castings’ design-led spaces are inspired by industrial shapes, flowing forms, and molten textures.
As well as its stunning apartments, the lifestyle-led development also features a fitness studio, high-spec gym, games room, private dining spaces, a co-working hub, and a 21st-floor rooftop terrace with panoramic views of Manchester.
The Castings is one of Manchester’s most social city centre neighbourhoods / Credit: The Castings
It sits in the heart of Piccadilly East is a neighbourhood often touted as Manchester’s next-generation, and named by The Sunday Times as one ofthe UK’s best places to live and The Castings has been ‘bringing new life’ to this up-and-coming area near Manchester Piccadilly stationever since it launched it last summer.
Even though Piccadilly East – which is conveniently-adjacent to Ancoats, New Islington, and the Northern Quarter – is already home to some of Manchester’s most popular food, drink, and liveentertainment venues, residents at The Castings don’t even need to leave the comfort of their own community to get involved with a wide variety of events and make some new friends along the way.
In just the year since the first residents moved into The Castings, it has hosted everything from live comedy nights to regular yoga and fitness sessions, run clubs, and seasonal resident ‘socials’.
One of the biggest highlights in The Castings’ social calendar so far has to be the recent ‘Spring Social’, which helped welcome the new season in style, complete with an ice cream van, DJs, big Jenga, and lots and lots of pizza, making it a ‘standout’ moment of the year.
If The Castings sounds like somewhere you’d love to live, then the final few apartments are still remaining, and you can head online to book a viewing now.
Featured Image – The Castings (supplied) / The Manc Group
Property
Relaunch date revealed for majorly revamped Altrincham Leisure Centre
Danny Jones
The opening date for the relaunch of Altrincham Leisure Centre, which recently underwent a serious revamp, has officially been announced.
Yes, Alty Leisure Centre – or rather, ‘move Altrincham’, as it will be known moving forward – is finally set to reopen in full following a significant rebrand and redevelopment.
Works on the local Trafford leisure centre and community hub actually first began way back in January 2023, but now, over two and a half years on from its closure for refurbishment, it’s just weeks away from being reopened to the public.
Now officially relaunching on 26 August, move Altrincham comes three years on from the opening of a fellow fitness facility in the borough, with move Urmston debuting in 2022.
Much like how the pandemic delayed the unveiling of their counterparts, it’s taken quite a while to complete the Altrincham Leisure Centre (ATC) overhaul.
The Urmston venue saw over £7 million pumped into resurrecting the old 1980s building back but in the case of ATC, more than £20m has been invested into this latest project overall.
Featuring a new, bigger and better fitness suite, state-of-the-art swimming pools, ‘The Cove Spa’ post-workout recovery and wellness assessment room; a brand-new purpose-built gymnastics hub, an expanded sports hall, as well as lots more, the place is set to be virtually unrecognisable.
As well as a rejigged changing room set-up, catering to men, women, groups and crucially inclusive, there’ll also be an enticing new cafe, featuring a resident in-house bakery from native artisans, MOST.
They really have put everything you could hope for into this major regeneration.
Local authorities have already dubbed this move Altrincham the “most sustainable sports facility” in the region, ahead of its opening later this month.
Sure to be a busy Alty outlet, Trafford Council has also confirmed that the building will use huge air source heat pumps and solar panels, saving upwards of 400 tonnes of carbon per year, with the remaining electricity imported off the grid pulled from a 100% green, renewable supply.
“More than 8,000 tonnes of carbon will be saved over the lifecycle of the pumps and panels, addressing the Council’s priority of addressing the climate crisis and becoming Carbon Neutral by 2038″, they go on to add.
Fixtures like this have been funded with support from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the UK government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, with over £2m of funding secured to bring the scheme to life.
Even the ‘purer’ pools will cost less money and water to run, not to mention the bonus of safe storage for bikes, nearby travel links to the Bee Network and EV charging points in the car park.
Speaking on the impending opening date, Cllr Aidan Williams – Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change – beckoned the reborn leisure centre as a shining example of the borough’s commitment to crucial environmental change.
“move Altrincham is a great example of how we’re setting new standards in Trafford that will help the Council achieve its zero carbon goals and send a powerful message to our communities that we treat climate change seriously and are working hard to create a greener, cleaner future,” says Williams.
Once again, the new and improved Alty Leisure Centre opens its doors on Tuesday, 26 August, and we can’t wait to see what the neighbours make of it.
Daisy Jackson -
11th July 2022 
