A 20-storey Hilton hotel, a controversial Lidl supermarket and thousands of flats - mostly for students - have been given the green light in Manchester. The planning committee approved all 10 applications on the agenda today (June 1).
The meeting was the first to be chaired by Labour's Jon-Connor Lyons who is said to be the youngest person to ever run the planning committee. Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the 26-year-old councillor said he wants to see more affordable housing built across the city during his tenure.
However, none of the 821 residential apartments approved at the meeting are set to be affordable – although some of the student accommodation will be. In total, 1,762 student beds across three separate schemes have been approved.
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It comes as Manchester council pushes for more purpose built student accommodation near the university campuses to free up family homes. In Fallowfield - where many students still choose to live - planning permission was granted for a hotel to be used permanently as homeless accommodation.
Here are all of the decisions made by the planning committee this month...
Here are all of the decisions made at this month's planning committee meeting...
New 20-storey Hilton hotel on Great Ancoats Street
A new 20-storey hotel with 154 bedrooms is set to be built on Great Ancoats Street as plans which also feature a café and bar, conference rooms and gym got the green light. The new hotel will be operated by Hilton's Motto brand.
However, concerns were raised about changes to the junction at Laystall Street which could see right turns onto the main ring road banned. Labour councillor Tina Hewitson said traffic at peak times would be 'horrendous'.
Town hall planners told the committee that a public consultation on any road closures would take place before the changes take place. The scheme, which was backed by the council's planning officers, was approved on that basis.
According to planning documents, the hotel could accommodate 85,000 visitors a year, bringing £7.2m of spending and 108 jobs to the city. The now fenced-off site is being used while the apart-hotel next door is refurbished.
More than 250 apartments next to Piccadilly Basin
Plans for 267 flats in two new buildings - the tallest being 12 storeys tall - were also given the go ahead. The new apartment blocks are set to be built on land between Port Street and Tariff Street which is currently used as a car park.
Concerns were raised about the design, with one resident at the meeting requesting that one of the blocks is removed from the scheme. Labour councillor Basil Curley, who previously chaired the committee, said he wanted the developer to pay more towards affordable housing as part of the proposal.
None of the apartments in the build-to-rent scheme would be 'affordable', but a £250,000 payment for affordable housing elsewhere in the city has been agreed. Planning permission was granted with a 'clawback' agreement which means developers Axis Real Estate and Marco Living 2 Ltd would pay more towards affordable housing if the scheme is more profitable than predicted.
Nearly 200 flats in £52m refurb of Ancoats Works
The £52m refurbishment of a former storage depot site in Ancoats was also approved. The scheme features canalside flats, town houses and a café bar.
But local resident Dorota told the committee that Ancoats and New Islington will be 'jammed with traffic' if the plans are approved. She also raised concerns about the impact on local infrastructure including access to GPs and schools.
Lib Dem councillor Alan Good argued that the developer should make a fifth of the 193 new homes affordable. He referred to the planning documents which said that developers Capital&Centric and Kamani Property Group would still make £8.5m if 20 pc of the homes were affordable, as council policy requires.
However, council planning chief Dave Roscoe said the scheme is expected to yield less than the 20 pc profit – the threshold by which councils must judge whether a development is viable or not, according to government guidance.
The Ancoats Works application was approved, although the committee asked for more disabled parking to be provided as part of the 'car-free' development.
More than 1,000 student beds at Premier Inn site
Plans to demolish the Premier Inn in Medlock Street to make way for a 38-storey block of student accommodation and a 13-storey office building were also approved. The purpose-built accommodation will house 1,014 students.
The development would consist of six to seven bedroom cluster flats. Premier Inn Hotels Ltd and Dominvs Project Company, which submitted the planning application, have agreed that rent 20 pc of the scheme would be 'affordable' – which means they would be available to rent at 80 pc of market rate prices.
In total, 11 representations have been received in relation to this proposal, raising concerns about noise and disturbance from the development, the impact of more students on crime and disorder in the area and the height of the building which some have said would block daylight reaching nearby flats.
Student block with 576 beds at First Street
Another student block in the city centre was also approved at the meeting. The House of Social scheme in First Street is designed for second and third-year students with 'established friendship groups', developer Vita explained.
In total, 576 student could be accommodated in the 14-storey building which would also feature a food hall on the ground floor. Around 15 pc of the rooms would be 'affordable' and managed by Manchester Metropolitan University.
No objections were received. Town hall planners, who supported the scheme, and a local councillor said they were 'suprised' more residents did not write in.
Apartments and offices up to 45-storey tall at ex-HMRC site
HMRC's former city centre office in Bridge Street is set to be demolished to make way for a massive residential apartment block and an office building. The apartment block at the Albert Bridge House site will feature 367 flats across three hexagonal towers ranging from 34 to 45 storeys in height.
In addition to this, another 19-storey building would offer 50,850 sqm of Grade A office space. Developer Oval Real Estate would also invest in the public spaces around the site and open up a walkway along the River Irwell.
None of the apartments in the scheme worth £129m would be affordable and the developer has not offered any contributions towards affordable housing elsewhere. Seven objections were made, many of which relate to the height of the towers, but the application was unanimously approved by the committee.
Homeless accommodation in Fallowfield
The committee was asked to consider an application relating to homeless accommodation in Fallowfield. The Rams Lodge in Wilmslow Road is already being used as temporary accommodation for single homeless people, but planning permission means it can be used permanently for this purpose.
But local resident Kattie Kincaid said there is already 'too much' homeless accommodation which houses single people with complex issues in the area. She asked for the decision to be deferred so more data can be provided.
However, the hotel's manager told the committee that the arrangement with the council - which started in March 2020 - has been 'working well' and he wants it to continue. Resident objecting to the application left the meeting before a decision was made as councillors suggested they would support it.
Council planning boss Des Jones homeless people could be housed at the 30-bedroom hotel without the need for planning permission. The application - which was approved - was for this specific type of accommodation, he said.
Lidl supermarket at Chorlton junction
Plans for a new Lidl supermarket at a busy junction in Chorlton were finally approved after being knocked back twice before due to road safety concerns. Located at the junction of Mauldeth Road West and Nell Lane, the new store was opposed by local residents and headteachers of several nearby schools.
They said the junction is already dangerous and argued that building a new supermarket on the site of a former office block would make matters worse. The proposal now includes installing speed bumps, speed indicator devices and guard rails as well as putting bollards in to prevent pavement parking.
Local councillor Joanna Midgley said people in the area 'desperately need' a lower cost supermarket, although she was also concerned about road safety. But town hall planners said they were satisfied with the measures proposed.
New primary school in Cheetham Hill
Plans for a new primary school in Cheetham Hill were also approved by the committee. The purpose built facility would take in 420 pupils when it opens.
However, the school would be built on Bignor Street Park which means it will come at the cost of a cricket pitch. New cricket nets and multi-use games areas would be created on the school's playing fields, Cheetham Park and Smedley Playing Fields to make up for the loss of these sports facilities.
Council officers said that public body Sport England is satisfied with the offer which means the scheme no longer needs to be signed off by the government, councillors were told. The proposal was approved by the planning committee.
Student block with 172 beds by the MRI
Another student block at a former nursery near Manchester Royal Infirmary was also approved at the meeting. The 172-bed scheme features a mix of studio and cluster flats in a building which will be part three, part six storeys.
But 130 objections were received in response to the application, nearly all of which were about how close the purpose-built student accommodation would be to the neighbouring West Indian Community Centre. However, there were no objectors to the application present at the planning committee meeting.
The application was approved subject to an agreement that 20 pc of the rooms in the student accommodation would be available at 'affordable' rates.
Read more of today's top stories here.
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