Developers have submitted plans for a huge tower block with 592 homes on the border of Hulme and Cornbrook, which would be one storey shorter than Manchester's Beetham Tower. The proposal, known as One Castlefield, involves two blocks on a plot of land off Ellesmere Street, near Cornbrook Station.
46-Storey Tower and Nine-Storey Block
Chatha Capital and landowners Kirindolam 8 Limited have submitted the plans. One block could reach up to 46 storeys, just one storey shorter than the Beetham Tower in the city centre, which was once Manchester's tallest building. The tower would be flanked by a shorter mid-rise building of up to nine storeys.
The development would feature a ground-floor cafe, a basement parking garage with 40 bays, storage spaces for 359 bicycles, as well as landscaping and amenity areas.
Mix of Homes and Design
Designed by Denton Corker Marshall, the smaller block features a 'red brick façade and sympathetic design', while the tower 'creates a strong relationship between the past and present' with a more modern design. In total, the development will have 193 one-beds, 354 two-beds, 27 three-beds, 13 four-beds, and five two-bed townhouses.
The plans will supplant failed plans by DeTrafford to build a £75m 420-home luxury complex topped with top-floor duplex penthouses. The proposal was first submitted in 2018, but after limited progress on the scheme for more than eight years, the site was acquired by Kirindolam.
Site Condition and Benefits
The 'unappealing'-looking Brownfield site is currently covered in demolition debris and sits next to the overgrown boundary to the railway line. A planning statement prepared by Deloitte notes there could be some 'adverse effects of the proposal including effects relating to heritage setting, townscape and visual impact, daylight, sunlight and overshadowing, wind microclimate, construction activity, traffic, noise, air quality and residential amenity'. But the planning consultants added: “the adverse effects do not substantially outweigh the benefits”.
The statement read: “The scheme would deliver 592 new homes in a highly sustainable city centre fringe location, directly supporting Manchester’s strategic housing, regeneration and economic objectives while making efficient use of previously developed land close to Cornbrook Metrolink Station.
“The scheme would deliver substantial public benefits. It would repair a cleared and visually poor site condition, provide a mix of apartments, townhouses and duplex homes, introduce active frontages and a ground-floor café, improve public realm and landscaping, enhance natural surveillance and support a safer and more animated residential neighbourhood.”
