Manchester Council is being taken to the High Court next week after their decision to approve a city centre ‘tombstone’ skyscraper containing 850 student flats was allegedly misled by planning officers.
The planning application for the 55-storey tower on top of a car park off Oxford Road was approved in July 2021 - despite fierce opposition from a councillor who likened the structure to a tombstone. More than 750 letters of objection were received by planners including complaints about its height, design and impact on the surrounding area.
Residents of Macintosh Village, a low-rise development of flats adjacent to the plot on Great Marlborough Street claim the £130m tower, proposed by GMS Parking Limited, will infringe on their leasehold rights to spaces in the car park.
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Mike Halley, a Macintosh Village resident, rallied his fellow objectors to raise funds for a barrister to take the council to court to review the decision to approve. They have alleged that the planning committee were misled on the fact that building work could be completed with residents retaining use of the car park.
They have also claimed that the council are in breach of environmental regulations of their own planning laws in regard to potentially exposing humans to seven years of demolition and construction dust. The Macintosh Village residents are concerned that this building work could impact their mortgage.
“It is like if you were to knock a wall down in your house, or do anything to impact the land, they would ask you to pay your mortgage in full,” Mr Halley explained. “When we put this evidence forward the decision was delayed for a year [before it went to planning committee in January 2021].
“The council thinks we are just going away, but we can’t because it will set a precedent in leasehold law. We are doing this for others out there in leasehold disputes in the future.”
Lawyers acting for Macintosh Village (Management) Limited issued Manchester Council with a 'pre-action letter' in August 2021 outlining their intention to challenge the decision in the High Court, where legal fees are expected to reach hundreds of thousands of pounds. This came after council planners said the legal threat of an injunction was not a 'material consideration' and the application was approved before the committee.
What is leasehold law?
‘Leasehold’ is when you only own the property for a fixed period of time (for example 100 years. You'll have a legal agreement with the landlord (sometimes known as the 'freeholder') called a 'lease'. This tells you how many years you'll own the property. Ownership of the property returns to the landlord when the lease comes to an end.
In this case, the leasehold refers to the car parking spaces (claimed to be worth around £25,000 each) that are to be built on and then replaced after construction is complete. Around 100 spaces belong to Macintosh Village leaseholders but the total number of bays will be reduced to 101 as part of the development. This has prompted fear that they will be unable to sell or remortgage their homes because it is part of the property they bought.
Breaking records… but maybe not for the right reasons
This application is a ‘UK first’ Mike Halley claims, being open for consideration for 146 weeks - exceeding the 26 weeks is the guideline - a feat not achieved by many others. Not only this, but when the planning committee made the decision to approve last year they were tied at the vote with five members in favour and five against.
As a result, committee chair Councillor Basil Curley, who typically abstains from voting on applications, was given the casting vote and sided with officers and the developer.
The case of the Crown & Macintosh Village versus Manchester Council is due to be held at the Manchester Civil Justice Centre on November 8.
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