Construction work has started on a 128 low-carbon homes in Ancoats, Manchester.
The Rodney Street development, which is being built on brownfield land, is the first to be undertaken by the council’s wholly owned housing development company, The City.
The scheme will include 118 apartments across two buildings (a mix of 27 one-bed and 91 two-bed homes), alongside 10 town houses (eight three-bed and two four-bed homes).
A third of the homes will be made available at the Manchester Living Rent, which is capped at the government’s Local Housing Allowance rate (LHA).
The remaining homes will be available at market rent.
Each of the town houses will include off-street parking with electric vehicle (EV) parking and private gardens to the rear.
Seven disabled parking spaces within the development site will also each have an EV charging point.
Parking spaces will also be made available at the nearby Ancoats Mobility Hub alongside bicycle parking.
The Rodney Street development will benefit from a wider £32m investment package funded by Homes England in this part of Ancoats, helping to unlock 1,500 new homes and bring the 20-year regeneration story of the area to a close.
Work to Ancoats Green and the wider public realm will begin later in 2023.
The City
This City is a new development company owned wholly by the City Council.
The ambition is to scale up housing development to at least 500 properties each year using council-owned land to directly build the homes that Manchester people need.
At least 20% of these homes will be made available at the Manchester Living Rent.
The company aims to build a mix of affordable tenures and market rent properties, with the latter subsidising the cost of the Manchester Living Rent Homes.
Feasibility studies are underway for future phases of This City development, with around 1,500 homes in the immediate pipeline.
‘A real moment’
Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, said: “Marking our first start-on-site for This City is a real moment for us.
“The aim for This City is about using council-owned land to build the homes that our residents need, that our residents can affordable, in locations they want to live. Rodney Street exemplifies this vision.
“The regeneration journey of Ancoats over the last 20 years has been a remarkable achievement, and this development continues that story, creating low-carbon homes and affordable housing options in the city centre, complemented by quality green space and sustainable transport options.
“The road to building this type of housing is always challenging, particularly in the context of the current economic conditions, but we are proud to celebrate these homes and what they will mean to the Manchester people who live in them.”
Dave Saville, regional managing director for Construction North at Wates, said: “Rodney Street represents a pioneering shift in development approach for Manchester City Council, and we’re proud to support them in their ambitions.
“We’ve worked closely with our project partners and the Council since the scheme’s inception to carefully plan out how we can ensure Rodney Street delivers its sustainability goals, as well as provides lasting benefit to the wider Ancoats community through Social Value initiatives.
“We have a long history working with councils across the North and beyond on similar residential schemes and the positive impact that considered, sustainable provision of new affordable homes has on an area cannot be underplayed.
“I applaud Manchester City Council and This City for bringing this development to life and now we’re underway with construction, I and all our teams, look forward to delivering the next milestone.”
Ben Tabiner, associate director of Buttress, said: “Our approach at Rodney Street is to create a simple and elegant design which responds to its surrounding areas.
“We’ve worked hard to ensure that the homes have good links with their surrounding areas by positioning the apartment blocks on either side of a new tree-lined and planted street.
“The green street will create a strong connection across the site and will encourage movement through the area and beyond.”
Main image: Cllr Gavin White Cllr Sam Lynch
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