Thousands of flats, a 20-storey Hilton hotel and a Lidl supermarket are all set to get the green light in Manchester next week. Student accommodation for 1,762 rooms across three separate schemes are all tipped for approval, while plans for hundreds more residential apartments will also be put to a vote.
The developments due to be decided next week include residential towers up to 45-storeys and a 19-storey office block at the former city centre HMRC site and the creation of a new canalside neighbourhood in Ancoats worth £52m. The planning committee - which will meet on Thursday (June 1) - will also consider applications for homeless accommodation and a primary school.
A new Lidl store planned near a nightmare junction in Chorlton is also back on the agenda. Hundreds of objections have also been received about one of the student blocks planned next to a West Indian Community Centre in Ardwick.
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In total, councillors on the committee are expected to decide the fate of 10 planning applications – all of which have been backed by town hall planners.
Here are all of the applications on the agenda for the meeting next week...
New 20-storey Hilton hotel on Great Ancoats Street
Plans for a 20-storey hotel in the city centre feature 154 bedrooms alongside a café and bar, conference rooms and gym. The building on the corner of Great Ancoats Street and Laystall Street would be operated by Hilton's Motto brand.
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 is being used for the refurbishment of a neighbouring apart-hotel.
Seven letters of objection have been received in relation to this application - although three were from the same person - raising concerns about the design, the impact on traffic and a lack of consultation with the public. The council's planning officers have recommended the application is approved.
More than 250 apartments next to Piccadilly Basin
A total of 267 new flats are planned in two blocks - peaking at 12-storeys tall - is also planned in the Piccadilly Basin area. The apartments would be built on land between Port Street and Tariff Street which is currently a car park.
The planning application submitted by Axis Real Estate and Marco Living 2 Ltd has been subject to 24 letters of objection. They include concerns about the 'unattractive' design of the development located next to listed buildings.
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 offered. Town hall planners have recommended the application is approved.
Nearly 200 flats in £52m refurb of Ancoats Works
The £52m refurbishment of the former storage depot site in Ancoats features canalside apartments, town houses and a café bar. In total, 193 homes are planned.
Developers Capital&Centric and Kamani Property Group are behind the project which does not include any affordable homes. They say they cannot afford to make a contribution towards affordable housing elsewhere because the development is only expected to generate a profit margin of 17.5 pc.
Nine objections and one letter of support have been received from local residents and businesses within the neighbouring Hope Mill. The council's planning team has recommended the application is approved subject to conditions relating to residents' parking permits and nearby businesses.
More than 1,000 student beds at Premier Inn site
Plans to demolish a city centre hotel to make way for a 38-storey skyscraper of student accommodation and a 13-storey office building are also on the agenda. The Deansgate Locks Premier Inn would be replaced by purpose-built student flats which would accommodate 1,014 rooms if plans are approved.
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'.
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. But the council's planners have recommended the application is approved.
Student block with 576 beds at First Street
Another student block in the city centre could be approved next week. The House of Social scheme in First Street is designed for second and third-year students with 'established friendship groups', according to developer Vita.
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' as agreed with Manchester Metropolitan University.
No objections have been received to the scheme which has the support of the town hall's planning officers, subject to agreements over affordable housing.
Towers up to 45-storey tall with flats and offices at ex-HMRC site
HMRC's former city centre office in Bridge Street would be demolished to make way for a massive residential apartment block and an office building. The apartment block at the Albert Bridge House site would 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 have been received, many of which relate to the height of the towers, but the application has been recommended for approval.
Homeless accommodation in Fallowfield
The committee will also be asked to consider an application for homeless accommodation in Fallowfield. The Rams Lodge in Wilmslow Road is already being used as temporary accommodation for single homeless people.
Approving this application would allow the council to continue using it for this purpose. However, 24 objections have been received from local residents who have raised concerns about the way the accommodation is currently being run with claims that anti-social behaviour in the area is associated with the facility.
Located in the council ward of Withington, local councillors have said they support the scheme in principle, as does the Withington Civic Society, but they have echoed the current concerns about anti-social behaviour. The town hall's planning officers have recommended the application is approved, arguing that this would help address the city's immediate and significant housing needs.
Lidl supermarket at Chorlton junction
Plans for a new Lidl supermarket in Chorlton will be put before the committee for a third time in the hope that concerns about the impact it would have on the busy junction next to it have been addressed. Located at the junction of Mauldeth Road West and Nell Lane, the development was knocked back in March after councillors called for road safety measures to be put in place.
The proposal now includes installing speed bumps, speed indicator devices and guard rails as well as bollards to prevent pavement parking. It comes after residents spoke of the many 'near misses' involving children at nearby schools.
Head teachers at Loretto and Chorlton high schools also objected to the application citing concerns about road safety. But the council's planning officers have again recommended the committee approves the application.
New primary school in Cheetham Hill
Plans for a primary school in Cheetham Hill are also set to be approved by the committee. The purpose built facility would cater for 420 pupils when it opens.
If approved, the school would be built on Bignor Street Park which means it would come at the cost of a cricket pitch. However, 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 facilities.
Two objections were received to this application, raising concerns about parking and arguing that the site should be kept as a park. The council backs the proposal, but it will need to be signed off by the government if approved.
Student block with 172 beds by the MRI
Another block of student accommodation is planned at a former nursery next to the Manchester Royal Infirmary. The 172-bed scheme would feature a mix of studio and cluster flats in a building which will be part three, part six storeys.
But 130 objections have been received in response to the application, including one from the Afro Caribbean & Friends Community Association which relies on income from a community centre next door on Carmoor Road. According to the council, nearly all of the objections relate to those associated with the neighbouring West Indian Community Centre who raised concerns about how close the purpose built student accommodation would be to it.
Some also claimed there was a lack of community consultation about the scheme which was submitted by Tiger Developments. Council planners have recommended the application is approved subject to an agreement that 20 pc of the rooms in the student block would be available at 'affordable' rates.
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