A consultation has started today (Friday 20 May) asking for views from local people and businesses about the Rodney Street housing development site.
This will be the Council’s first project via its new housing delivery company, This City.
This follows an initial public consultation earlier this year and the feedback has been considered to develop plans for 128 new homes.
All the homes will be built to low carbon standards and will comprise a mix of apartments and town houses – ranging from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom town houses.
30% of the new homes will be available at the Manchester Living Rent. This means that the rents for these homes will be set at or below the Local Housing Allowance level (as set by central Government), and so will be accessible to people on full housing benefit.
This is the first development to incorporate the new Manchester Living Rent and will make sure that This City developments can be accessed by a wide range of Manchester people, on a range of incomes – helping to create a diverse community of residents.
High quality public realm, including improved walking and cycling routes across the site (including cycle storage), will underpin the look and feel of the development site with improved biodiversity through new trees, hedgerows and ornamental planting.
The adjacent Ancoats Green will also see significant improvements as part of the wider Back of Ancoats Public Realm Strategy.
The consultation will be open until Tuesday 7 June and can be accessed online at:
www.manchester.gov.uk/consultations
A Drop-in event will also be held for people to find out more and provide feedback on the current proposals. This will be held at Miles Platting Community Library, Lower Vickers Street on Thursday 26th May, from 3pm - 7pm.
A planning application will be submitted for the Rodney Street site in June and subject to planning approval works will start on site later this year.
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “We have to be innovative and ambitious in our home building plans to help meet the growing demand for housing in Manchester. We are refreshing our Housing Strategy to build 10,000 social and genuinely affordable homes over the next decade. Building new homes that can be accessed by our residents – especially in the city centre – is an ongoing challenge. But the This City model has a lot of potential and will help deliver the homes that our residents need. Our aim is to expand the delivery of homes through This City to 500 homes a year delivering a range of homes to meet the needs of our residents.”
Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development, said: “It’s fantastic to see the first This City site begin to come to fruition. This development reacts to a range of challenges, including bringing underused land back into use while delivering the new high quality, low carbon homes that our residents need.
“Importantly, 30% of these homes will be priced at the new Manchester Living Rent level, which means the homes will be available to our residents on full housing benefit. This will make sure that more Manchester people will be able to access these homes, helping to create diverse, lasting and sustainable communities.
“I would urge local people to get involved either online or pop along to the in-person session. Local people’s views are vital in guiding the principles of projects like this and we’d love to hear from you.”