Yesterday afternoon a planning committee of Manchester City Council resolved to grant planning consent to deliver Urban&Civic’s important city centre development on the corner of Princess Street and Whitworth Street. Support from the planning committee for the revised Simpson Haugh scheme was unanimous, following extensive public consultation and positive representations from Historic England and Places Matter.
The new scheme comprises two residential buildings delivering 238 apartments, a 148-bedroom 4 star hotel, ground floor commercial units and a new landscaped public square over the existing four-level basement car park, which will provide 273 parking spaces.
Urban&Civic originally purchased the one-acre site with an existing planning consent in December 2014 at an allocated cost of £7.8 million. Since that planning consent was granted in 2007 a number of factors have changed, including the economy and property market as well as thinking about design and uses. The new planning approval reflects Urban&Civic’s revised scheme which better suits the current market and its aspirations for the site. Gross Development Value is expected to be of the order of £100 million.
The consented design creates a contemporary reinterpretation of key architectural characteristics of historic buildings within Manchester’s Conservation Area and sensitively reconnects the site to its surroundings. Furthermore, Urban&Civic will be looking to introduce local independent traders in the ground floor units to help integrate the scheme into the neighbourhood.
Nigel Hugill, Executive Chairman of Urban&Civic, commented:
“We are fully grateful for the support of all concerned. Urban&Civic very much see ourselves as long term investors in Manchester, having built No1 Deansgate and Green Quarter in our previous business. The city is continuing to grow economically and culturally and we are determined to make our own contribution to that process.”
Work on the initial phase of residential buildings is expected to start slightly ahead of schedule, by mid 2016, with the first new residents moving in approximately 20 months later.
More information can be found on the project website: www.manchesternewsquare.com