Proposals for more than 1,000 new homes in and around the north Manchester area have been recommended to the council for approval.
The first of two schemes forms the latest phase of the £1bn Northern Gateway homebuilding project and will be considered by the city’s planning committee.
Victoria Riverside will be the name given to one of seven new communities proposed by Manchester City Council and the Far East Consortium (FEC) that could take shape within the next 20 years. The development would see three towers built – the tallest having 37 floors, the others being 26 and 18 storeys high – along with townhouses on land in Red Bank near Collyhurst.
The towers will be supported by a brick prodium – which will provide shop fronts and a glazed residential lobby facing the planned Gateway Square – and will mark the entrance into the Northern Gateway.
A total of 634 homes are planned on the two-acre site bordering Bromley Street, Dantzic Street, Gould Street and Bromley. Of these, 611 would be apartments, with 13 townhouses and 10 maisonettes, all of which will offer a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom living spaces.
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FEC / Manchester Council / HawkinsBrown
FEC has committed to delivering 20pc affordable housing across the Northern Gateway.
Only 5pc (32 homes) at Victoria Riverside will be classed as affordable though, and will be shared ownership properties.
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According to a council report, the scheme received a single letter of support from a resident urging the council to approve the scheme “without delay”. It says: “The tower blocks would impact views into the city, but it is a price worth paying if the 400 metres into the city centre along Dantzic Street is tidied up.
“Dantzic Street is currently in a poorer condition than a war zone or the dark side of the moon.”
NPL / Levitt Bernstein
In Miles Platting, there are also plans to build a new ‘mixed neighbourhood’ on the former site of the Manox chemicals factory.
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NPL Group is hoping to secure permission to develop 410 homes on land off Coleshill Street – which it owns alongside Manchester City Council – and there are also plans to provide a nursery, shops, and a community hub with a cafe alongside the Rochdale Canal.
Most of those 296 properties will be built specifically for renting rather than for sale, with 44 homes offered as rent-to-buy, and a further 34 available for social rent.
There will also be 36 homes that can be bought through shared ownership.
Documents submitted with the planning application for the above read: “The proposed layout creates a safe environment through the provision of a legible and well-overlooked street network with residential front doors facing onto the street.
“This encourages walking and cycling, and therefore, social interaction between neighbours.
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“The design of the new homes and streets is drawn from the existing local context to create a cohesive neighbourhood that fits well into the existing community.”
Collyhurst Regeneration
When it comes to current residents’ comments, some residents have already objected to the loss of open land south of Coleshill Street – which is commonly used by the public – but it’s expected that more than 500 new trees would be planted in and around the site.
There are also claims that there is a covenant on the land too.
According to one resident, the number of homes being proposed is “far too large”, while another raised concerns about contaminated land being redeveloped.
Despite the objections received, Manchester City Council planning officers have recommended that the planning committee approve the application when they meet this week on Thursday 24th September.
You can find more information via the Northern Gateway website here.
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Pep Guardiola admits heavily rotated squad was ‘too much’ after landmark home loss
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has conceded that his heavily rotated side, which saw almost an entirely different team from the previous matchday squad, may have been “too many changes” as Manchester City suffered their first home loss in the Champions League group stages in more than seven years.
Man City suffered a 2-0 defeat whilst hosting Bayer Leverkusen at the Etihad Stadium – a place that has been largely a fortress in European fixtures since the Catalan coach arrived – but the biggest headline on the night was the whopping 10 personnel changes Guardiola made to his starting XI.
It has been argued that Pep has become overly reliant on star striker Erling Haaland (who has already scored 19 goals in the Premier League and UCL combined this season), and the virtually ‘start-from-scratch’ outfit he fielded on Tuesday night definitely didn’t do him any favours.
Speaking to various media in post-match interviews and the press conference after the game, Pep admitted that his wholesale rotation gamble may have been “too much.”
"Maybe it was too much…"
Pep Guardiola reflected on Man City's home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen after making 10 changes 🔁 pic.twitter.com/WBZHwl3ZOb
Considering the only continuity between the batch that faced Leverkusen and the previous squad that narrowly lost to Newcastle United was the still relatively new CDM, Nico González, we think he might be on to something.
In fact, as if the conviction behind the decision wasn’t already questionable enough, Pep insisted before the game that he would have made more if he could, but with fellow central midfielder talisman Rodri still injured, the number 14 was the sole teammate who remained from the weekend.
There are always going to be lapses in sharpness and fluidity when a lineup is shuffled, but it’s fair to say that it’s almost guaranteed when you remove every individual bar one.
Perhaps this was a somewhat covert/loaded attempt to shine a light again on previously mentioned complaints regarding squad depth in relation to the increasingly congested fixture list, with both Guardiola and the aforementioned Euro 2020 winner having flagged their concerns about the calendar.
This is also the second time in just a matter of days that the 54-year-old has held his hands up and taken accountability for making “huge mistakes”.
Not only was it City’s first Champions League loss of the season, but as mentioned, the first and at home in the competition’s initial stages in more than half a decade.
It’s quite a record that Pep has clung onto, which should get plenty of recognition in its own right, but supporters will nevertheless be hoping to get back to winning ways soon and avoid stringing together any more consecutive losses.
Last November was the first time Guardiola had ever lost four matches in a row during his entire career, and with a trio of very winnable fixtures coming up in the league, we would bank on a big reaction in the next game against Leeds.
If you missed the game, you can watch the highlights from Man City vs Bayer Leverkusen down below.
Sankeys nightclub is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
It’s officially happening: iconic local club Sankeys is coming back to Manchester city centre almost a decade on from its gutting closure.
The iconic ‘Sankey’s Soap’ nightlife space – which started out over in Ancoats during the mid-’90s – enjoyed numerous stints during its time in the clubbing world, as well as opening multiple partnered venues in the country and even overseas.
Now, approaching nine years after the shutdown, Sankeys is returning to Manchester in the new year, and Mancs are currently losing their minds.
Whether you are one of those who ‘remember it when’, or someone who sadly missed out on the halcyon days in the old Beehive Mill, we assure you that everyone is in agreement that this is nothing short of massive news…
First teasing the comeback back in July, as our city and the world at large were gripped by ‘Britpop Mania’ 2.0, the largely dormant Instagram account posted: “This week Manchester, and the UK, has been blessed with a homecoming of our very own, Oasis.
“We think Manchester deserves another homecoming… Definitely, maybe?”
The North West corners of the internet and veteran revellers alike were understandably quick to get excited by the potential revival, but nothing else had been said for months – until now.
Confirmed on Tuesday, 25 November, the infamous and storied nightclub’s social media team began by writing, simply: “The Legend Returns” and beckoning “a new era for Sankeys”.
It is still unclear as to where exactly the new and improved club(s) will be, but we do know that the events will be in the city centre. However, we do know we’ll be getting a familiar matrix grid installation as part of the design once again.
They will also be enforcing a strict new no-phones policy, which has become increasingly popular across the scene, thanks to the likes of Amber’s right here in Manchester.
Sankeys first opened in Manchester as "Sankeys Soap" in June 1994.[3] It was so called due to its residence inside Beehive Mill, Ancoats, which once was used to manufacture soap. The basement of the mill was transformed into a club and live music venue#pub#historypic.twitter.com/cnM6Nt23uZ
Sankeys may have remained an active promoter in the days since the building on the corner of Radium and Jersey Street (M4 6JG) closed – going on to become an unsuspecting office development – this will be the first event of the aforementioned next chapter in a flagship venue.
Promising a limited capacity of no more than 500 people, Sankeys is set to make its landmark return on
“We will only be open one night a week on Saturday. There will be no VIP or phones allowed on the dancefloor — everyone is a VIP. People need to stop taking pictures and start dancing to the beat.”
Hordes of clubbers, ravers, students and more are already signing up for early access and general admission tickets for the first two nights on Friday and Saturday, 30-31 January 2026 go on sale at 9am this Friday (28 Nov).
Get ready to grab yours HERE and party like it’s, well, 1994, 2017 – take your pick.
Emily Sergeant -
21st September 2020 
