Social impact developer CAPITAL&CENTRIC, which recently featured in the BBC2 documentary Manctopia, has submitted a planning application for a £37m scheme to create a new community in Manchester’s New Cross district in partnership with Kamani Property Group.

Located opposite the Mackie Mayor food hall and iconic Band on the Wall venue, the scheme will transform the derelict site on Swan Street into 118 new homes, with a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bed design-led apartments. There will be ground floor workspaces and spaces for local businesses to locate, such as a café-bar or deli.

A shared roof terrace and private roof terraces for residents are also planned as the developers look to maximise outdoor space. With a striking design, it will also feature a huge 270m art canvas on the front of the building which will be one of the largest in the city and will showcase local and international artists.

Tim Heatley, co-founder of CAPITAL&CENTRIC said:

“New Cross used to be a thriving location in the 18th and 19th century and its due to have its day again. The area’s already attracting indie businesses and the same is going to happen with residents wanting to be part of the growing neighbourhood.

“As you’d probably expect from us, we’ve gone for a bold design with a huge art canvas on the building. We want people to stop and look and for it to become a talking point. Architecture should be interesting and draw people in – we’re not interested in building a bland boring building!”

The site, which CAPITAL&CENTRIC purchased with Kamani Property last year, is currently home to two derelict buildings, once used as a MOT garage and a storage facility.

During the first lockdown, CAPITAL&CENTRIC opened a COVID supplies depot at the site, where over £500,000 of supplies were donated to local charities.

It is soon to open as Ramona, a new temporary Detroit pizzeria and bakery, margarita bar, beer garden, coffee counter and stage by the team behind some of Manchester’s most iconic venues including Trof, Gorilla and Albert Hall.

Adam Kamani, CEO of Kamani Property said:

“Manchester runs through our veins and we’re proud to be part of the New Cross district’s resurgence. The city centre has been through a tough and unprecedented year tackling COVID-19 but we’re looking forwards to the comeback and recovery. As a business we’re keen to play our part in helping Manchester to thrive again. The submission of our plans with CAPITAL&CENTRIC to breathe new life into an under-loved part of the city with boundless potential is a great way to kick off 2021.”

Tom Dobson, Associate Director at HawkinsBrown, the architects behind the scheme said:

“Swan Street is a fantastic opportunity to provide a new landmark destination with a layered architectural response, designed to offer a mixed use scheme of high-quality homes activated at ground level by commercial premises and enhanced public realm.”

The New Cross district is bound by Swan Street, Oldham Road, Rochdale Road, and Livesey Street. In 2015 Manchester City Council approved a Neighbourhood Development Framework for New Cross to guide future development and create a vibrant new residential led neighbourhood.

The planning application submission follows a public consultation which was held during December.
A decision on the planning application is expected from Manchester City Council in the Spring.

A £6.1million project to create a new five-storey YMCA independent living facility for young people has started.

The new building, called ‘Y-Pad’ and designed by Preston-based architects, Cassidy +Ashton, will transform YMCA’s existing community and drop-in centre on Deansgate to create forty modern self-contained apartments for young people in Bolton aged between 18 and 25.

Demolition work has started on YMCA’s existing premises at the site which is expected to complete in March. Construction work is scheduled to start in April with an anticipated completion date of January 2022.

As well as providing the opportunity for young people to move out of supported accommodation and foster care and become more independent, Y-Pad’s ground floor will house Bolton Y-Zone, enabling the continuation of YMCA Bolton’s youth services as well as operating a food bank.

Alistair Baines, Cassidy + Ashton’s chairman and head architect on the project said: “It has been a real pleasure to be involved in such an important and much needed facility and to help bring life to YMCA’s vision for the Bolton community.

“We chose a contemporary, aspirational design for the building, taking into consideration features and materials that reflect the same flavour and architectural language as the surrounding historic buildings. In addition, by incorporating large, glazed areas and the use of modern materials, we feel the new building will offer a light, spacious facility and a welcoming environment for young people to realise their independence.”

The design process for creating Y-Pad involved input from young people to ensure their wishes and needs were considered. The resulting generous self-contained one-bedroom apartments each includes a kitchen and bathroom to enable them to live independently and be re-integrated into society.

John Shepley, Chairman of Trustees at YMCA Bolton said, “I am delighted to see the start of this new and exciting project. The YMCA on Deansgate has a long and enviable record of working with and supporting the Bolton community. However, for some time now the Trustees have recognised that the existing building was not best able to meet the changing needs and demands of our local community. The existing building had become an increasing drain on our limited financial resources, so we needed to change and adapt.”

“In order to secure the necessary changes, the Trustees developed a strong working partnership with our YMCA colleagues at Fylde Coast. Together with their help and support we have been able to achieve our goal of a new build incorporating both forty self-contained one bed apartments and room for our own YMCA activities.”

“It has taken us several years to reach this point, but I know we can now look forward with confidence to the future. Without doubt this marks a new era for YMCA Bolton and the Board of Trustees look forward to the new and exciting times ahead.”

“Cassidy + Ashton has been involved in several YMCA projects, most recently the redevelopment of the YMCA Lakeside school facility at Lake Windermere. The success of this building reflects their creative ability to design modern functional buildings with sympathetic consideration of the surrounding environment.”

The Bolton Y-Pad project is a collaboration between YMCA Bolton and Y:Housing (YMCA Blackburn).
As well as providing architectural and design services, Cassidy + Ashton will manage the project onsite on behalf of YMCA, working alongside constructors Walter Carefoot & Sons Construction Ltd.

Bellway is pleased to confirm that it has acquired land on Lostock Lane in Lostock, Bolton, with planning consent granted for a brand new residential development.

The 14 acre site, which was previously Hercules Business Park, will be transformed by the award-winning housebuilder.

Known as Hazel Fold, the new development will provide 214 new build homes. The development will offer a superb selection of properties, including one and two bedroom apartments as well as three and four bedroom semi-detached and detached homes.

Renowned for its high standards, the properties at Hazel Fold are part of Bellway’s recently launched Artisan collection and incorporate carefully considered elevations and luxury design features.

Infrastructure has already started on site, with build of the homes due to commence imminently. Bellway will officially launch the development in late February, releasing for sale the first few homes, followed by the opening of two show homes in the Summer.

Hollie Reynolds, sales director at Bellway, comments: “We have an excellent reputation in Bolton for delivering well designed, high quality homes and we are thrilled to continue building in the area. Hazel Fold will be a welcome addition to Lostock and with a great range of stylish properties planned, the development will appeal to buyers of all ages.”

In addition to the new development, Bellway has made significant financial contributions to the locality, including £200,000 towards education and £60,000 towards off-site POS.

Hollie concludes: “With initial infrastructure works well underway, we are looking forward to starting construction of the new homes, introducing the Artisan range to Bolton buyers.”