Manchester’s Piccadilly East neighbourhood is set to grow once again as plans for a new £28 million development are given the green light.
In what is another prominent milestone for the renowned social impact developers, Capital & Centric have announced that Manchester City Council has approved plans for the new ‘Ferrous’ block in the vibrant neighbourhood, which will feature a total of 107 design-led rental apartments on Chapeltown Street, just a stone’s throw from Manchester Piccadilly station.
Ferrous will act as a neighbour to Capital & Centric’s existing projects in Piccadilly East, which are the historic Crusader Mill restoration, and the new build Phoenix community.
As well as 107 new homes over 15 storeys, according to Capital & Centric, Ferrous will also boast a rooftop residents’ garden, two café-bars, lush pocket parks on the ground floor, and most-notably, The Cabin – a new space for pop-up events.
The 20,000 sq ft site was once protected as part of the expansion of the Metrolink line, but has since been left empty for years.
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It’s official there’s a new kid on the block…Meet Ferrous 👋🏻
Not only are we bringing 107 beautiful design-led rental apartments to Piccadilly East but we’re also adding shared garden and a cabin set to become a community hub to the area. pic.twitter.com/kzddaIJOXJ
The green light for Ferrous will see more street-level spaces for residents to hangout, with the shared gardens, and The Cabin set to become a social hub.
Speaking on the green light, Tim Heatley – co-founder at Capital & Centric – said: “It’s no mean feat establishing a new neighbourhood in a city centre, but Piccadilly East is becoming an awesome place to live and Ferrous is the next part of the story, bringing more new homes with our trademark design-led finish, but crucially more spaces that’ll breathe life in the area.
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“There’s a genuine community forming across Crusader Mill and Phoenix, with owner occupiers forging friendships and making the most of the awesome location, and Ferrous will deliver a new social hangout space, with lush planting and The Cabin – a space for indie pop-ups and one-off foodie events to get people spending time there.
“That, plus the two spaces for café bars or shops should really help foster that close-knit neighbourhood feel, right round the corner from Piccadilly station.”
Construction on Ferrous is planned to start this autumn, and complete in late 2024.
Featured Image – Capital & Centric
Property
Government sets date for ‘historic’ no-fault evictions ban next year
Emily Sergeant
The Government has officially set the date for the ban of no-fault evictions next year.
Renting in England is expected to be ‘transformed’ with a raft of major changes coming into effect as part of the new Renters’ Rights Bill from 1 May 2026 for 11 million people across the country – and this, crucially, includes the end of Section 21 evictions at no-fault of the tenant.
As it stands, Section 21 notices leaving thousands of people vulnerable to homelessness every year, but in just under six months’ time, private renters will no longer face this threat.
To the vast majority of renters and landlords who play by the rules, this government has got your back.
Further measures announced as part of the new Renters’ Rights Bill – which has now been passed in law – include a ban on rental bidding wars, making landlords and letting agents legally required to publish an asking rent for their property and prevented from asking for, encouraging, or accepting any bids above this price, and also a ban on in-tenancy rent increases written in to contracts.
The latter will prevent landlords from implementing higher rents mid-tenancy, and only allow them to raise the rent once a year to the market rate.
Landlords will also no longer be able to unreasonably refuse tenants’ requests to have a pet, nor will they be able to discriminate against potential tenants, because they receive benefits or have children.
‘No-fault’ evictions are now banned in England under historic new legislation / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
On the flip side, however, the new Bill means landlords will have stronger legally valid reasons to get their properties back when needed – whether that’s be to move in themselves, sell the property, or deal with rent arrears or anti-social behaviour.
The Government says this will work to deliver a fairer system for both sides.
“We’re calling time on no fault evictions and rogue landlords,” commented Housing Secretary, Steve Reed. “Everyone should have peace of mind and the security of a roof over their head, and the law we’ve just passed delivers that.
“We’re now on a countdown of just months to that law coming in, so good landlords can get ready and bad landlords should clean up their act.”
Alongside the Renters’ Rights Act, an ‘improved’ Housing Health and Safety Rating System, which will better assess health and safety risks in homes and making it more efficient and easier to understand, will also be introduced.
And there are also planned new standards to ensure privately rented properties are warmer and cheaper to run.
Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
Property
Work finally begins on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley creating 20,000 jobs
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… work has finally begun on the first major development in Atom Valley.
If you’re not familiar with Atom Valley, this new project is set to be a unique innovation ‘cluster’ – plans of which were approved by local leaders all the way back in summer 2022 – with the potential to create up to 20,000 new jobs in Greater Manchester once it’s complete.
Greater Manchester wants Atom Valley to become a ‘springboard’ for new and emerging companies and researchers, giving them the support and the opportunities they need to trial and commercialise their innovations right here in our region.
The new development which ground has now been broken on is a Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) – which is set to become a thriving hub of innovation.
Today is a big day for GM.
We break ground on a new research centre at Atom Valley – our emerging world-class cluster in advanced materials and manufacturing.
Here, start-ups and emerging companies will be able to pioneer new technologies and scale up their ambitions, all while creating jobs and driving growth across the region in the process.
Located next to the Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, it will offer 30,000 sq ft of new laboratory space, workshops, and design studios, as well as a lecture theatre, meeting rooms, office space, and flexible workspace for start-ups.
With the ‘right’ support, local leaders say the SMMC will also be a vital link between Atom Valley and the Oxford Road Corridor, ultimately forging a pathway for new companies and projects to expand from the city centre out into the wider city region.
Work has finally begun on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley / Credit: DLA Architecture
Mayor Andy Burnham says this is the ‘most ambitious development’ in Atom Valley so far
“It will help unleash the untapped potential of the world-leading research taking place across our city region, bridging that crucial gap from invention to bringing those new innovations to the market,” he explained. “And it will create a new hi-tech corridor from the out to the north of Greater Manchester, creating jobs and new opportunities for start-ups to scale up their ambitions.
“This is integrated, well-connected development in action, and a clear sign of our mission to spread the benefits of growth right across our city region.”
Emily Sergeant -
18th March 2022 
