Plans to build a new block of flats next to Shudehill tram stop look set to be rejected this week as town hall staff say councillors should vote them down. A decision on the planning application to build 175 flats on the Manchester city centre site, first put forward nearly five years ago, is due to be made this week.
The proposal would see buildings on the 'largely vacant' plot demolished to make way for a residential block ranging from two storeys to 19 at its peak. However, the façade of the Rosenfield Building would be retained while the listed 29 Shudehill building would be restored, refurbished and converted.
The £57m scheme has been revised several times since it was first submitted to Manchester council in September 2018. The development would mostly be made up of two bedroom flats with some one and three-bed apartments too.
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Nevertheless, Manchester council planners concluded the development would be 'overly large' and 'overbearing' and would 'undermine' the regeneration of the city centre. They have recommended that councillors reject the proposal.
The planning committee will also discuss two other applications which have been recommended for approval at its meeting on Thursday (April 13). In a report published ahead of the meeting, planning officers explain why they want councillors on the committee to reject the Shudehill development.
It said: "[...] due to the impact on heritage assets, its location in a conservation area, within the setting of listed buildings and on a main route, the proposal would not positively contribute to the high-quality regeneration of the area. This is principally as a result of its inappropriate scale and massing, its proportions and the quality of the architectural detailing.
"It would not add the overall quality of the area or have a visually attractive architectural form, which responds to local character and would undermine the ongoing regeneration of the city centre [...] The result will be overly large and overbearing and would not meet required design standards for tall buildings in Manchester.
"It would not relate positively to the character of the area, streetscene and Manchester skyline resulting in an unduly harmful impact on visual amenity."
Advising developer Interland Holdings on the proposal, Avison Young has said that the scheme would bring 'significant' public benefits and argued that the development complies with council policies. But the planning agent did not reply to requests for a response to the officers' recommendation of refusal.
The planning committee will also consider an application for a three-bedroom property on land in Baguley and a proposal to upgrade gas infrastructure in Chorlton where a replacement 'kiosk' would be built behind houses in Barlow Moor Road. Objections have been received in relation to all three applications.
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