Leading regeneration experts, Scarborough Group International (SGI) has secured outline planning consent from Salford City Council for the development of the remaining plots of land at its multi award-winning, 25-acre Middlewood Locks neighbourhood.

Middlewood Locks is a significant, £1 billion regeneration project in Salford, being created over a number of phases. Once complete, it will deliver over 2,000 much-needed new homes and circa 900,000 sq ft of commercial space, including a hotel and leisure amenities, set in a beautiful and tranquil canal-side environment.

Just a stone’s throw from Salford Central station and a short walk from Manchester’s Spinningfields business district, the development includes substantial public realm within the design, incorporating the attractive waterside setting of the restored Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal.

The news follows the reserved matters consent secured earlier this year for two further phases of development that will include 909 new residential apartments with commercial amenity and public realm.

SGI is already on site with phase three, the ‘Railings’ delivering 189 apartments and three- and four-bedroom town houses to support family living, along with over 10,000 sq ft of canal-side commercial space for office, retail and leisure uses. SGI has recently secured a £30m loan from the Government housing and regeneration agency, Homes England to fund this phase.

Phases one and two, comprising 1,117 apartments and amenity space are sold and occupied housing a thriving new community of over 1,300 residents. Iconic brewery brand Seven Bro7hers has opened its first beer house in the development alongside Co-op Food and 92 Degrees coffee shop.

Last year SGI applied to update its existing consent with some revisions to the masterplan for the remaining plots on the brownfield site.

Paul Kelly, Group Director at SGI, said:

“We are delighted to secure outline consent for the remaining space at Middlewood Locks. This updated masterplan delivers against the increasing demand for city living as well as high quality commercial accommodation with a strong balance of public realm and amenity. We have and continue to work closely with Salford City Council and other key stakeholders to provide a highly sustainable environment that is accessible to all.

“It is also a reflection of our experience in developing the site for over six years, which will carry us through to complete our commitment to curate one of the largest new communities in Greater Manchester and one of the most celebrated regeneration projects in the North-West.”

Nicola Wallis, Sales and Marketing Director at SGI, said:

“Middlewood Locks has emerged as a thriving new neighbourhood with a growing community of over 1,300 people. It’s wonderful to see how friendships have formed among the residents and how settled and established the community is. We host regular events within the public realm and at Seven Bro7hers beer house to ensure our neighbourhood is inclusive and accessible to the wider communities.

“We are excited to introduce more fantastic new public realm within the revised masterplan. ‘Junction Park’ a new green space along the canal, ‘Signal Square’ to create a sense of arrival and new event space and ‘The Nook’ to create more amenity spaces for the community to enjoy. We will continue to deliver first class green space with design features to support biodiversity and wellbeing. These will link through the railway arches with safe and pleasant walking and cycling routes to Manchester City Centre.”

PLANS for two pioneering office buildings at NOMA, which pay homage to the city’s heritage and underline its status as one of Europe’s most forward-thinking cities, have been submitted.

The new buildings, 2 and 3 Angel Square, will jointly deliver around 440,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, providing a new benchmark for sustainability, wellbeing, smart connectivity and flexible use of amenity spaces.
Designed by architects Cartwright Pickard to connect with the public realm around NOMA, and to encourage collaboration and interaction, the new buildings will be net zero carbon operational energy*, targeting BREEAM Outstanding and targeting a five star NABERS rating. Other features include: a potential rooftop restaurant, stunning garden terraces including a water feature, a piano nobile terrace overlooking Angel Square and lower and upper ground floor commercial retail uses.
Dan Hyde, Development Director at real estate asset manager and developer MEPC which is delivering the NOMA masterplan, said: “This flagship development will raise the bar in the North by delivering Grade A office space that is truly environmentally friendly for today and tomorrow, as well as providing enhanced amenities that will optimise the workspace.

“We’re in a time where having sector-leading sustainability credentials matters not just to investors and funders, but to occupiers too. The next generation of employees are more sustainably conscious than ever before, and providing them with the most sustainable and user-friendly working environment with access to green space, can become the important differentiator. At 2 and 3 Angel Square, we’ll be delivering exactly that.”
Standing 14 storeys in height 2 Angel Square will deliver 197,926 sq ft of office space and a further 17,200 sq ft of potential commercial space on the top floor. 3 Angel Square will be 13 storeys, delivering 241,531 sq ft of Grade A office space and 22,690 sq ft of commercial space.
2 and 3 Angel Square will complement the landmark 1 Angel Square, and 4 Angel Square, which is due to be completed in early 2023 and is Manchester city centre’s largest, and most sustainable speculative development.
Peter Cartwright, Founding Director at Cartwright Pickard said: “Designed with the future in mind, these striking, contemporary buildings will be of the highest standards, with health, wellbeing and sustainability at the core. The open plan ground floor and upper ground floors with a mix of complementary uses and interconnecting spaces will help create an inviting entrance to the building for tenants and the wider community.

“By encouraging footfall along Thread Street and maximising the extent of active frontage around the building we believe the scheme will add incredible vibrancy to the surrounding streets and strengthen links between Angel Meadow to the north and the city to the south.”

The façade of the buildings will be in keeping with the heritage buildings in the NOMA estate, and use glazed, angled terracotta panels, which will reflect different colours as the sunlight reflects on them at different times of the day.

With a further nod to Manchester’s industrial heritage, the public realm around 2 and 3 Angel Square pays homage to its past – the site was the location of textile pioneer Richard Arkwright’s Shudehill Mill.
Kevin Redhead, Landscape Architect at Planit.IE, which is responsible for the public realm explains: “The significant level change between Angel Square and Thread Street provides the opportunity to create a dynamic series of steps and planted terraces. A proposed water feature will run through the terraces, taking advantage of the natural level change and referencing the historic water wheel associated with Shudehill Mill.”
Wellbeing is at the heart of the design, with excellent levels of natural light and access to outdoor space for office workers. More than 250 cycle spaces are planned for across the two buildings as well as facilities to encourage active travel.

By using the east-west level change to their advantage, the design team have effectively ‘buried’ amenities such as cycle storage, waste facilities and car parking in the lower part of the site.