Work has started on site to build the UK’s first mobility hub, helping Ancoats to become a ‘people first’ neighbourhood that prioritises streets for people over cars and providing sustainable travel.
The Hub forms a vital component of the third phase of regeneration that will transform Ancoats Green as the local community's green heart and unlock 1,500 new homes in Ancoats – including the Council's first 'This City' housing project at Rodney Street. (*See notes to editors for more information) and local housing by Manchester Life and other housing partners.
The Ancoats Mobility Hub supports Manchester's ambition to become zero carbon by 2038, while enabling the City Council, Great Places and Manchester Life to deliver homes that will use the Hub for parking - reducing vehicle movement around the neighbourhood and allowing more development space to be allocated for active street fronts and community spaces.
The Hub is a new concept in urban design, developed in partnership between Manchester City Council and Manchester Life, underpinning the Ancoats' public realm strategy by prioritising green investment, public space, sustainable and active travel, and individual building design over space for car parking and vehicles.
Vehicle movements around Ancoats will be further reduced by the Hub's delivery centre, which will receive parcels and other deliveries, which will either be collected by residents or transferred to buildings via small electric vans and cargo bikes.
Other community facilities in the Hub include commercial space for local businesses adjacent to the renewed Ancoats Green to create a third high-quality public space in the neighbourhood, in addition to Cutting Room Square and the marina.
The Hub, equipped with EV charging, will also provide residents access to car share clubs and cycle hire schemes to reduce the need for vehicle ownership. It will include 150 secure cycle parking spaces with changing facilities for neighbourhood visitors.
The Mobility Hub in numbers:
- 150 secure bike parking spaces and changing facilities
- 102 Electronic vehicle charging points, with potential to increase in the future
- Up to 30 spaces for car club/car share schemes
- 406 car parking spaces for residents and visitors – limiting on-street car parking and on-site parking at future development sites (apart from disabled parking)
- 1370sqm of new public realm, connected seamlessly to Ancoats Green
- Over 1500sqm rooftop solar panels
- Over 400sqm of green wall and 950 sqm of planted façade
- Parcel delivery hub for final mile collection point **
- Space for a new café
- A new commercial unit
The Mobility Hub has been part funded by Homes England for place-making and off-site infrastructure and Manchester Life.
The development is expected to completed by the end of 2024.
Bowmer + Kirkland are the contractors and Buttress are the architects. Find the full delivery team in notes to editors.
Find out more information about the final phase of the Ancoats regeneration story
Ancoats success story continued:
The upcoming phase of regeneration builds on the success of previous development by the City Council, Manchester Life Development Company and other partners around Cutting room Square and New Islington Marina.
The Council’s This City development at Rodney Street include 128 new low carbon homes – a mix of one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom townhouses – 30% of which will be capped at the Manchester Living Rent.
Alongside this project, onsite development in this part of Ancoats includes 68 affordable homes at Downley Drive and 39 affordable homes at the historic Ancoats Dispensary site – both by Great Places Housing Group.
Manchester Life has received planning permission for 190 homes at Jersey Wharf and 118 homes at Eliza Yard and is working on plans for Phoenix Ironworks, which will see a further 256 homes, extensive outdoor areas and space for local creative industries. All Manchester Life developments will use the Hub for parking, aside from disabled parking spaces and secure cycle storage at each development.