PLANS to create a vibrant canalside community at Manchester’s Ancoats Works have been submitted to Manchester City Council by developers Capital&Centric and Kamani Property Group.

New images of the £50 million project – including canalside apartments, town houses, gardens and a new café bar or store – have been revealed. They show the proposed designs for what’s currently a disused storage depot, including 193 homes, with a mix of 1 and 2-bed apartments; 3-bed duplexes; and townhouses fronting onto Carruthers Street.

It’s the second collaboration between the two Manchester-based developers, who have teamed up to breathe new life into the historic site. If approved, work could start on site in early 2023.

The new images show the fusion between old and new, with the retention of the iconic Ancoats Works frontage on Pollard Street and new apartments including a modern twist on the red-brick buildings that once dominated the industrial area, whilst complementing the neighbouring Hope Mill.

A striking space for the community to hangout – either a new store or café bar – is included, alongside plans to restore the unloved canalside with lighting and generous planting as part of a lush new garden.

Adam Kamani, CEO at Kamani Property, said:
“We think this community will be a really vibrant addition to Ancoats as it grows. The design strikes the perfect blend between old and new – retaining parts of the historic building with the iconic ‘Ancoats Works’ signage, whilst creating design-led homes on what’s currently a pretty unloved, industrial site. As well as new homes, we plan to deliver stunning outdoor spaces and improve the canalside, making the space much more welcoming with real character.”

Adam Higgins, co-founder at Capital&Centric, said:
“At our communities in Piccadilly East and Kampus, we’ve seen first-hand that Manchester’s diverse neighbourhoods are attracting a real mix of people wanting to put down roots in the city. More and more, young families, retirees and downsizers are wanting to call the city home, as well as the more stereotypical young professionals. Ancoats Works responds to that, with a mix of townhouses and apartments to help foster a diverse neighbourhood, as well as spaces like the corner café bar and gardens where a genuine community can bond and grow. We’re excited about getting going.”

Submission of the Ancoats Works application follows community consultation last year. The collaboration follows the two companies joining up on plans for a site on Swan Street in the Northern Quarter, consented by

Following extensive community engagement, Bruntwood and Trafford Council are excited to announce that detailed plans for the transformation of Stretford’s King Street – the first phase of the wider Stretford Masterplan – have been submitted.

The proposals include reinstating the historic King Street as a vibrant high street, where existing businesses will be joined by new shops, cafes and bars, including independent and well known brands. A new covered market hall is also planned, which will provide a home for retailers and eateries, bar areas and outdoor seating to boost the local evening economy.

The submission of the detailed planning application for King Street follows Bruntwood and Trafford Council receiving outline planning approval for the Stretford town centre transformation masterplan in March.

With both sustainability and the high street at the heart of the masterplan, the plans centre around creating people-friendly spaces and new pedestrian routes into and around the town centre, to enhance the flow of footfall around the area.

Widespread landscaping, tree-planting and leafy seating areas will improve air-quality and boost wellbeing for residents and visitors, providing spaces for the community to come together. The plans also include significant investment to transform the existing multi-storey car park to make it light, convenient and secure, and to create a new King Street Square to provide outdoor seating areas, market stalls and spaces to host events.

Working in partnership, Bruntwood and Trafford Council have made a multi-million-pound commitment to transform Stretford town centre. There are exciting plans for up to 800 new homes, substantial new green public open space, and a new canalside neighbourhood.

Andrea George, town centre and consumer brands director at Bruntwood, said: “We’re proud to be moving forward with the ambitious plans to revitalise the King Street area, and to be one step closer to unveiling the vibrant new heart of Stretford.

“The engagement we’ve had from residents, visitors and the wider community on the vision for their future town centre has been overwhelming. A wealth of green spaces, a fresh and inspiring shopping area, and great cafes, restaurants, community facilities and play spaces were all really important features for King Street, and we’ve incorporated these into the plans.”

Cllr Andrew Western, Leader of Trafford Council, said: “Trafford Council is committed to creating successful and thriving places and having pride in all of our town centres. The King Street development certainly meets this criteria and will completely transform Stretford town centre into a modern, vibrant and exciting place to be.

“We have engaged with the community every step of the way and have taken the public’s thoughts and ideas on board concerning exactly what they want. Stretford deserves to have a first class town centre containing great shops, cafes, green spaces and community areas and, working alongside Bruntwood, that is exactly what we plan to deliver.”

The King Street proposals are one of the projects to receive funding from the Government’s £830m Future High Streets Fund (FHSF). The fund, launched by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in December 2018, is designed to support and fund local areas’ plans to make their high streets and town centres fit for the future. Last year, Trafford Council received £17.6m funding to regenerate and transform Stretford town centre – one of only four areas of the North West to receive the full allocation. The plans have been shaped following extensive community engagement with local residents, stakeholders and businesses in September for the future of King Street.

The design team includes architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios in collaboration with Studio Mutt, Exterior Architecture, Avison Young and Civic Engineers.

A national family law firm with nine office offices in the northwest, has relocated its Altrincham office to the professional quarter at 19 Market Street.

Stowe Family Law has taken the ground floor office suite, in this well-appointed managed office building, comprising 546 sq ft on an all-inclusive basis for 12 months.

The firm is dedicated to family law matters with a large team of specialist lawyers across a UK network of 45 offices.

Helen Miller, managing partner, Stowe Family Law, said: “Due to increasing client demand in the Altrincham area and a growing team of family lawyers, we had to relocate from our offices at Oxford Road to Market Street.

“The new office space comfortably accommodates our increased number of employees and supports our hybrid approach to working with people combining time in the office and home-based working whilst creating a welcome environment for our clients in the heart of the town.”

Daniel Lee, director, Regional Property Solutions, who manage the building on behalf of the landlord LMO Properties, said:

“We are delighted to have let, this the largest suite in this bespoke serviced office building, to such a well-established law practice. There is always demand for this type of office accommodation on flexible terms but this one scores highly in terms of its location within a couple of minutes’ walk of The Market Quarter”.