ancoats annual report 06/07

Ancoats Urban VillageAnnual Report 2006/07

September 2007

ancoats report b:Layout 1 12/12/07 10:56

Overall outcome envisaged:-

1800 new residential properties

50,000 square metres of newcommercial floor space

1,600 new jobs accommodated

8 Hectares of derelict or underusedbrownfield land transformed intoviable new uses

£320M new private sector investment secured

£48m public sector investment

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2

Section Page No

1 Foreword 3

2 Executive Summary 4

3 The Locality 5

4 Regeneration Context 7

5 The Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) & Complementary Funding 8

6 Partnership Working & Delivery 9

7 Progress Against Outputs 10

8 Progress Against Expenditure 11

9 Major Achievements 2006/07 12

10 Status of Developments – March 2007 15

11 The Year Ahead 17

12 Complementary Activity – Public Realm Works 19

13 Conclusions 20

Contents


The NWDA Annual Report for Ancoats, outlines the progress being madeby the Agency and our partners New East Manchester and ManchesterCity Council , to stimulate the regeneration of this important part of theCity Centre.

Much has happened during the 2006/07 financial year, with an increasedbudget being secured, some large scale changes in project personnel beingmade to assist delivery, and most importantly further tangible achievementsbeing delivered on the ground that build on the successes of previous years.Indeed it is estimated that on site and in design are some 1800 residentialunits and over 50,000 square metres of commercial floor space, all on targetto be delivered by 2010. The NWDA’s pioneering use of RegionalDevelopment Agency compulsory purchase powers has enabled it to acquirethose sites where owners have proven unwilling or unable to bring forwardappropriate development, and sites acquired on this basis will be brought tothe market to maintain the development momentum.

The long term vision for Ancoats remains to bring the area firmly into the 21stcentury whilst celebrating and enhancing the area’s unique historic character.The Urban Village will not be preserved in aspic as a testament to the role itundertook, it will become a vibrant mixed use part of the City relevant to thepeople who live and work in it now, as well as to those that will come to thearea in the future. New uses continue to be found for the historic buildings sothat their long term future can be secured. New buildings, which have thequality to sit alongside listed buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries, arebeing encouraged on the vacant sites. These developments are ensuring thatthe population living and working in the area continues to increase providingthe economic climate to sustain local businesses and services and to justifythe increasing investment and values within the area.

1. Foreword:

3


The 2006/07 financial year has seen further significant strides made indelivering regeneration on the ground in Ancoats, with an increasedbudget being secured, some large scale changes in project personnelbeing made to assist delivery, and most importantly further tangibleachievements being delivered on the ground that build on the successesof previous years.

The Agency’s CPO for Ancoats was made in October 2001, an Inquiry washeld in June 2002, and the CPO was confirmed in September 2002. The CPOprovided everyone with the confidence and certainty that the whole of thearea was going to be transformed. To overcome the challenges facingAncoats, NWDA and NEM are working closely together, with additional inputalso received from Manchester City Council, English Heritage and AncoatsBuilding Preservation Trust (now Heritage Works Buildings Preservation Trust).

It is estimated that on site and in design are some 1800 residential units andover 50,000 square feet of commercial floor space.

Developments completed during 2006/07 were: former George Leigh StSchool (office conversion); Phase 1 of Royal Mills mixed use scheme(recognised by four awards including the RICS and NW Insider), shell repairsto Murrays Mills and the former St Peter’s Church; starts were made onExpress Networks III, BS41 and Sarah Point.

Key milestones for the year head will include starts on: Heart of Ancoats, 45-47 Bengal Street, Flintglass Apartments, the Stockbridge Airco site, and the IcePlant. These developments will be complemented by further improvements tothe public realm, including the construction of a new public square.

1. Executive Summary

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The renaissance of Manchester over the last decade has taken place onan unprecedented scale, with the area reinventing itself as a modernand truly cosmopolitan city. It is a dynamic growing commercial centre,a developing world class university city, a regional centre for shopping,transport, culture and entertainment.

The Ancoats urban village area of Manchester covers primarily some 20hectares it is just over 1 kilometre north east of the central retail and officearea of the City Centre. Adjoining the thriving Northern Quarter with its eclecticmix of activity, Ancoats Urban Village has frontages on to Great Ancoats Streetand Oldham Road, with the Rochdale canal forming the southern boundary.

Ancoats is rich in industrial and architectural heritage, spanning thedevelopment of urban cotton spinning and related activities from the late 18thcentury to the early 20th century.. It was designated a Conservation Area in1989 and, along with Castlefied and the Worsley Basin is on the UK tentativelist for inscription as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The ConservationArea contains 14 listed buildings, 7 of which are Grade II*.

The Ancoats area also contains another key project within the wider New EastManchester regeneration initiative; New Islington. immediately adjacent toAncoats Urban Village, it is the UK’s third Millennium Community, where aformer Council estate is being redeveloped to provide over 1700 new homes,a new clinic and a new school, all based around a new canal and high qualitypublic realm. This project is being taken forward via a partnership betweenNew East Manchester, English Partnerships and Lead Developer, UrbanSplash.

Major transformation is also planned for Miles Platting, the area immediately tothe north east of Ancoats. Under the Government’s Private Finance Initiativethis area, characterised by 1970’s council housing, will be transformed throughselective demolition, refurbishment of retained homes and infill new build, intoa mixed tenure neighbourhood around the newly restored Rochdale Canal.

As a place to live, work and play, Ancoats is ideally placed to offer the benefitsof living in the city with all the cultural and social facilities it has to offer, alongwith amenities such as health and education that are vital to sustainingcommunities.

3. The Locality

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Location Plan

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During the late 1980s/ early 1990s Manchester madebids to host the Olympic Games. Some buildings inthe Ancoats area were purchased by speculators andtheir occupants given notice to quit. When the bidswere unsuccessful the buildings were abandonedheralding a very rapid decline in the area. Already rundown, the combination of higher levels of vacancyand poor building maintenance accelerated declineand led to a number of key buildings being lost. In1998 the Ancoats Urban Village Strategic Frameworkreported that an estimated that 80% of thecommercial and industrial floor space in the area wasvacant. The mill complexes were underused, vacantor derelict and the fabric of many buildings was atrisk. Perception of the area was that it wasthreatening and intimidating where vandalism andstreet crime flourished, a “no go” area for investment

Whilst some developer interest had been expressed, itwas thwarted by a combination of unrealistic valueexpectations of landowners and the concern that withoutsome form of concerted action, the area would lack thecritical mass necessary to achieve sustained change.The pattern of ownership was extremely diverse, therewere some 201 separate title interests within the corearea. Without the ability to accelerate development on allthese sites the risk of failure for most was too great, evenwith grant funding available to cover profit gap.

This combination of the inability to assemble the landrequired, coupled with the uncertainties related to singledevelopments, resulted in negligible progress inregeneration on the ground. Earlier public sectorinterventions had proven insufficient– small industrial unitprovision, City Grant to convert the Beehive Mill andExpress Newspapers, ad hoc land assembly by EnglishPartnerships and the NWDA, landscaping, etc. As aconsequence of these earlier attempts, there wasrecognition that a focussed delivery organisation wasrequired to promote and coordinate the renaissance ofthe area, leading to the formation in 1996 of the AncoatsUrban Village Company (AUVC) and its sister, theAncoats Buildings Preservation Trust (now HeritageWorks). These companies were set up by the SRBfunded Eastside Regeneration Project, the aim being toenable ABPT to source potential funding not available tothe private sector and for AUVC (now subsumed withinNew East Manchester) to work with the private sector.

In its first years of operation, AUVC produced (inconjunction with the City Council and English Heritage),the Supplementary Planning Guidance and a PublicRealm Strategy.

4. Regeneration Context

7


The loss of the UK gap funding regime due to an EUruling against it on competition grounds, made iteven clearer to all partners that there was noprospect of regeneration within Ancoats withoutsome alternative form of intervention. Confidence inAncoats, where it existed at all, was ebbing away andmany developers expressed their concern that if theywere to proceed with their developments, they wouldbe on their own in an otherwise unimproving area.The need to provide certainty that a critical mass ofdevelopment could be achieved was ever morepressing. The loss of the “carrot” incentive topromote unviable/marginal development ledpartners, by this time including the fledgling NWDA,to consider other action and the possibility of aregeneration based compulsory purchase order(CPO) was first mooted. Legal advice confirmed thatthis was an appropriate use of RDA powers.

The Agency’s CPO for Ancoats was made in October2001, an Inquiry was held in June 2002, and the CPOwas confirmed in September 2002. Between July 03 andthe expiry of cpo powers in Oct 05, the Agency executed8 General Vesting Declarations. . The CPO covered circa8 hectares of the 20 hectares comprising the AncoatsUrban Village.

Where owners/ developers were as a consequencewilling to carry out developments in accordance with theaspirations for the area, they were required to enter intoImplementation Agreements. CPO powers were then notexercised in exchange for owners/ developers acceptinga timetable for implementing development and agreeingto surrender their freeholds in return for long leaseholdsto facilitate an area wide management body.

Where owners were unwilling to offer developmentproposals for their sites, or were unable to agreeschemes within the timescale afforded by the CPO fordoing so, these properties were acquired by the Agencyfor disposal either to pre- CPO formally registeredinterests, or to put on the open market.

Other Complementary Funding

In addition to the funding being made available under theCPO Project, the Agency has committed other resourcesto the area, including gap funding of circa £23m on sixprojects including Royal Mills (£9M) and Murray’s Mills(£5M) and public realm works (£5M). NWDA fundinghas facilitated access to further funds from the HeritageLottery and European Regional Development Funds.English Heritage also funded essential repair works thatstabilised several buildings at risk.

5. The Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)

8


The regeneration of the Ancoats area is beingspearheaded by New East Manchester through theAncoats Urban Village Company (AUVC wassubsumed into, New East Manchester Ltd (NEM) inApril 2005). The original AUVC board containedmembers nominated by Manchester City Council,NWDA, the Ancoats Buildings Preservation Trust andthe Princes Foundation (they withdrew from theproject in 2003).

In addition, there was representation from the privatesector and observer status for English Heritage (theirstatutory involvement in the area precluded fullmembership). The Chair was a private sectorrepresentative and the company was fortunate inattracting two prestigious property developers to that role;initially Tom Bloxham MBE until 2001 and subsequentlyJim Ramsbottom until 2005. Since the dissolution of thatboard, the activities of the Urban Village are reported tothe NEM Board, however the spirit of the earlier board hasbeen maintained through ongoing informal dialogue withkey stakeholders.

Following a restructuring within NWDA, new internalgovernance structures were put in place during 2006/07in line with Agency standards.

6. Partnership Working & Delivery

9


The regeneration of Ancoats has been underway since 1998 and the cpo action since 2001, in a review of progressundertaken during 2006/07 an analysis of outputs resulting either directly or indirectly from the Compulsory PurchaseOrder were as outlined in the tables below:

In addition to the cpo activity, the outputs in the table above, benefited from other measures provided by NWDA andother sources in order to be brought to fruition. These include; Royal Mills, Murrays’ Mills, MM2, Flint Glass Works, IcePlant. NWDA has committed a further £15m funding over and above that committed to the CPO alongside HLF andERDF funding to secure these developments.

Outputs Arising Directly from the CPO

7. Progress Against Outputs

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Output Category Total Achieved to Under ConstructionGross 31 March 2007 31 March 2007

Residential Units 1,147 55 382

Commercial Floor space (sq m) 30,392 6,295 5,130

Gross jobs accommodated 1,229 316 223

Private sector leverage £190m £14m £62m

Public sector leverage £2.95m £1.6m £0.7m

Brownfield land remediated 3.8ha 0.8ha 1.1ha

Complementary Outputs

Output Category Total Achieved to Under ConstructionGross 31 March 2007 31 March 2007

Residential Units 666 92 326

Commercial Floor space (sq m) 19,582 2,435 12,895

Gross jobs accommodated 334 99 90

Private sector leverage £132m £13M £85m

Brownfield land remediated 4.2 0.5ha 0.8ha


During 2006//07 the project budget was increased from£16M to £43.5M, largely as a result of increased landvalues. NWDA Board agreed to revise the project budgeton 16 November 2006, with formal endorsement of thisincrease being received from the Department of TradeIndustry on 4 April 2007. Notwithstanding this, it shouldbe noted that the project has resulted in the Agencycoming into ownership of a substantial amount ofproperty which will in turn generate additional significantcapital receipts in the future. Accordingly, the differencein net expenditure between the 2003 approval and thatsecured this year is relatively marginal.

Ancoats CPO Project (£Ms)

Totalto

00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 date 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 Project total

Land purchases 0.1 - 4.0 1.6 1.0 0.8 13.5 21.0 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 21.8

Write downs / write backs - - - 2.0 (0.9) - 6.9 8.0 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 8.8

Professional fees 0.1 0.5 0.3 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.5 2.3 0.9 1.0 0.4 0.3 4.9

Estate costs - - - - 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.7 0.9 0.3 0.3 0.3 2.5

Total expenditure 0.2 0.5 4.3 4.2 0.4 1.1 21.3 32.0 2.2 1.7 1.1 1.0 38.0

8. Progress Against Expenditure

Funding Re-approval

Spend on CPO Project: Actual and Forecast

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During 2006/07, Artisan commencedwork on Express III, which will delivera mix of new build apartments andworkspace. This £5M private sectorinvestment will yield 56 newresidential units and 6,000 squaremetres of new commercial floorspace.

Express III (nearly finished)

Substantial progress has been madeon this seven storey City Southdevelopment of 50 new apartmentsand 1,000 square metres ofcommercial floor space. Acting onword of mouth, all but three of theapartments within this modernistcube were snapped up 12 months inadvance of the development’scompletion date of August 07.

41 Bengal Street (nearly finished)

The triple award winning Royal Millsscheme where ING Real EstateDevelopment is engineering arestoration of one of the UKs mosthistorically important cotton spinningcomplexes reflects the renewedconfidence in Ancoats. Completionof the first stage of the £85mscheme has involved the installationof a spectacular £1m courtyardatrium. Last year saw the Dutchproperty company complete 198 ofthe planned 315 residential units and7,600 square metres of businessspace.

Royal Mills

9. Major Achievements 2006/07

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9. Major Achievements 2006/07

Works got under way on the distinctiveand contemporary looking Sarah Pointdevelopment by B S C Developments.This 12 floor landmark building frontingonto Great Ancoats Street will house1,500 square metres of commercial floorspace with 139 residential units above.

Barrons Site – Sarah Point

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After a £14M restoration programme to savethem from collapse, the huge buildings thatare Murray’s Mills complex are now waitingfor the next stage of their reincarnation. Thework so far to strengthen the Grade II* listedstructures, re-slate the roof and put in newwindows has been publicly funded by theHeritage Lottery Fund and NWDA, and wasoverseen by Ancoats Building PreservationTrust. The Burrell Company and Inpartnershipwill next turn the buildings into a mixed usedevelopment. Old Mill will be converted intofive floors of apartments with lower groundfloor units having their own front doors. NewMill on the opposite side of the courtyard willhave ground floor offices with apartmentsabove. The buildings along Murray Street willbe turned into offices and a new hotel,forming the final side of the quadrangle.

Murrays Shell Repair

ASK Developments have now completedthe redevelopment of a former school onGeorge Leigh Street for offices. Some800 square metres of new commercialfloor space has been created by this£1,111,000 investment which is capableof accommodating up to 40 employees.

ASK – former George LeighStreet School


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St Peter’s Church was built in 1859 andis of a distinctive Romanesque style. Thechurch was acquired by the AncoatsBuilding Preservation Trust (ABPT) in1997 on a long lease from ManchesterCity Council. ABPT sourced a £905,000stage 2 HLF grant and £704,000 grantfrom the NWDA to complete thepermanent repair of St.Peter’s as acatalyst for the wider regeneration of theAncoats area. The works includedexternal and internal repairs – brickwork,re-pointing and re-roofing as required,reinstatement of lost features, provisionof services and full disabled access.Construction commenced on 27 July2004 and was completed in May 2006.

St.Peter’s Shell Repair


10. Status of Developments

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Name/address ofdevelopment

Waulk Mill, Redhill St/Bengal St,

Express Networds II

8 Loom St

Crown and Kettle

Virginia House

Express Networks III

Great Ancoats St - SarahPoint

62 Jersey St

George Leigh St School

64a Jersey St FlintglassApartments

41 Bengal Street

Hood Street scheme

32-40 Oldham Road

17-19 Jersey Street

Heart of Ancoats

Stockbridge Airco site

45-47 Bengal Street+Henshaw's Yard

Dixon Mill/New Little Mill

Blossom Street/Henry St

66 Jersey Street

30-34 George Leigh St

Elec sub-station, 15Jersey Street

St Michael's ChurchPrestbytery

Developer

Urban Splash

Artisan

Water Street CompanyLtd

Artisan

Artisan

Artisan

B S C Developments Ltd

Private Investor

ASK

Northern Group

City SouthDevelopments

Northern Group

Gore & Khan withArtisan

---

Artisan

Worksharp(Developments) Ltd

Nikal/McLean

Burrell/InPartnership

Blossom StreetDevelopments Ltd

Manchester Properties

---

---

N/a, in temporary useas builders compound

Comment

Successful redevelopment of grade 2 listed mill

Conversion apartments and workspace

Redevelopment to office + residential use

Refurb of Grade 2 listed PH

Refurb of offices and art galllery

New build contemporary apartments +workspace

Residential and ground floor commercial onmain road frontage

Conversion to shop, restaurant and flat

Redevelopment of former school to offices

New build apartments

Apartments above with gf commercial uses,7 floors +basement car park

New build mixed use

Mixed use redevelopment of site

Conversion from residential to office use

Town houses, apartments and leisure

Apartments above gf commercial uses, 8floors +basement car park

New build apartments & offices

Conversion to multi-storey car park forMurrays Mills

Mixed use pub/commercial/residential on 7floors

New build apartments, mainly 3 bedroomed

Mixed use residential and retail

Conversion for office use

New build mixed use opportunity

Status ofDevelopment

Completed

Completed

Completed

Completed

Completed

On site

On site

On site

On site

On site

On site

Planning approved

Planning approved

Planning approved

Planning approved

Pre-planningapplication






Inactive

Pre-developerselection

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Name/address ofdevelopment

Jactin House

30 Poland Street (notpart of cpo)

6 Loom Street

87-91 Great AncoatsStreet

Blossom St/Hood St (no developer)

St Michael's Church

Flint Glass Works, 64 Jersey St

MM2 Gt Ancoats St/Redhill St

Gt Ancoats Street /Redhill Street

Royal Mills (incorporates13B + 19) R+NB

Ice Plant

Murrays Mills

Public Realm

Blossom St POS

St Peter's Church

Car Park

Coates School, 2 Jersey Street

27 Blossom Street

2-4 Loom Street

Sam's Foundry 46 Radium Street

Ghulam House

Owen's Car Park

Developer

Building not yetavailable

Site not yet available

not yet available

Building not yetavailable

not yet available

Seeking communityfacility promoter

Northern Group

Gleeson/PersimmonHomes

NWDA/NEM

ING Real Estate

Northern Group

Burrell/InPartnership

NWDA/NEM/Section106 etc funded

NWDA/NEM

---

NWDA/NEM

---

Richard Haley/HarcastleInvestments



Freedia Fabrics

---

Comment

Redevelopment opportunity

Site assembly not yet complete



New build opportunity

Initially seeking sustainable community use

Conversion of glass works to workspace

New build apartments+ shops on main roadfrontage

Public open space adjoining canal

Redevelopment of 2*listed Mill to residentialand commercial uses. Phase 1 completed

Apartments above gf commercial uses, 9floors +2 levels basement car park

Historic structure secured, for developer to fit out,

Step change in highway surface, furniture,

Public square providing setting forsurrounding

Proposed national embroidery & textilemuseum

Car park

Conversion of former school to office use

Office refurbishment

Workshop to office refurbishment

Refurbishment fo 3 storey warehouseoccupied by PCT

Existing use (multi let commerical)

Existing use (car park)

Status ofDevelopment







Completed

Completed

Completed

On site

Planning approved

Planning approved

Planning approved




Completed

Completed

Completed

Completed

None required

None required

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30

31

32

33

34

35

36

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38

39

40

41

42

43

44

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11. The Year Ahead

The planned Heart of Ancoatsdevelopment will see the developerArtisan in association with Activestreamconstruct 137 town houses andapartments, alongside 198 squaremetres of leisure development. Totalprivate sector investment will fall justshort of £20 million.

Heart of Ancoats (Artisan)

17

Flintglass apartments will see theconstruction of 136 new residential unitsby the Northern Group abutting theadjacent canal. Some 205 square metresof commercial development willcomplement these apartments,representing a total private sectorinvestment of £15 million.

Flintglass Apartments (Northern Group)

The developer City South will bemaking a start during 2007/08 on theconstruction of new build apartmentsand offices on the site of 45 to 47Bengal Street. Some 135 residentialunits will be provided alongside 2,047square metres of commercial floorspace which is capable ofaccommodating 108 new jobs. Totalprivate sector investment is estimatedto be in the region of £15.5 million.

45 -49 Bengal Street – CitySouth


18

The redevelopment of the formerStockbridge Airco industrial premises willsee 194 new residential unitsconstructed on seven floors above aground floor earmarked for commercialuses and a basement car park. The totalprivate sector investment in thedevelopment will be £29 million.

Stockbridge Airco site(Worksharp)

The redevelopment of the former IcePlant by the Northern Group will see theconstruction of 136 new apartments1,200 square metres of commercialdevelopment spanning 9 floors, plus a 2level basement car park. Theredevelopment will be capable ofaccommodating over 60 new jobs andwill represent £13.5 million of privatesector investment.

Ice Plant (Northern Group)

The forward strategy for the regeneration of Ancoats andspecifically the CPO area is to establish a ManagementCompany that will secure a viable and enduring future forthe Urban Village. It will hold the freehold reversion of theestate enabling it to enforce lease covenants and act toensure that the area does not again deteriorate as it didbefore. It will maintain the public artworks and ensure thatthe monitoring and maintenance of CCTV coverageacross the area is undertaken. The company is to recoverits costs via an estate charge, and manage the 999 yearleases on which redevelopments have been secured, tothe common benefit of all owners and occupiers.

. The company is to be established during 2007/08, to comeinto force during Spring 2008, with a detailed Business Plan tobe prepared during the Summer of 2007 to commence thisprocess.

Ancoats Management Company

The Ancoats 3D Model is fully interactive, constructedusing computer gaming technology, enabling users to “flyabove and walk” around the area. Designed byconsultants Arup on behalf of NEM, the model wasconstructed using both photogrammetry and architectsdesigns. The technology can add a new scheme to theexisting environment and show exactly what it would looklike to assist with assessing contextual impact. The datais so precise it can be used as evidence to supportplanning applications.

During 2007/08 there are plans to further refine andupgrade the 3D model, adding several new proposeddevelopments

Ancoats 3D Model


12. Complementary ActivityPublic Realm Works

At a national and local level the case has been made for high qualitypublic realm by both investors and policy makers. An elegant, robustand sustainable public realm is no longer viewed as an optionalcommodity for the contemporary city but essential in terms of itsefficient functioning and the well-being of its citizens.

A Public Realm Strategy was prepared for Ancoats and approved by the CityCouncil in 2002, which provides specific guidance with regard to the followingissues:

• traffic management within Ancoats Urban Village• Recommendations for pedestrian linkage to neighbouring areas• A parking strategy for Ancoats Urban Village• Detailed specification for new carriageway and footway materials• Lighting recommendations• Public Art

Total public funding for the various phases of new public realm is £9M, withadditional private sector contributions via Section 106 agreements.

2006 saw Ancoats scoop a Waterways Renaissance Award with the panelcommenting that ‘This stunning canal heritage focussed scheme … is anoutstanding project in an outstanding location and the panel expects it toregenerate this area dramatically.’

Public realm artist Dan Dubowitz expects to complete the majority of his workduring 07/08. Since his appointment he has produced a book of stories andimages, put on a major exhibition at Piccadilly Station here in Manchester andat the Cathedral of St John in New York and the final stage of his work is aseries of installations within buildings that can be viewed via peepholes fromthe street. This will introduce an intriguing new dimension into the publicrealm. It is aimed at making people want to discover more about the area andits interesting past without being “worthily educational”. A preview of this lastphase of work will be on show at the Metrolink level of Piccadilly Station fromJuly 07 for approx 3 months.

19


2006/07 saw a marked acceleration to the transformation of Ancoats.The area is no longer a byword for abandonment and decay, which is atestament to the ongoing efforts of the North West DevelopmentAgency, New East Manchester, Manchester City Council and variousprivate sector partners. Of 45 plots identified for development within theboundary of the CPO, 11 are fully developed, seven are on site and 19have negotiations at an advanced stage.

NWDA is planning to invest a total of £27 million in the CPO area, in additionto providing gap funding of over £15 million on six projects including RoyalMills (£8 million) and Murrays Mills (£4.7m). Arising from this significant levelof investment, both the NWDA and NEM remain confident that this level ofsupport in the eight hectares covered by the CPO will attract private sectorinvestment of £322 million and deliver 50,000 sq metres of commercial floorspace, 1800 apartments (120,000sq m) and 1600 new jobs, many in theprofessional and creative sectors. Ancoats will become a place where peoplewant to live, work and visit. Alongside the wide choice of housing and varyingbusiness premises, people will find local shops, restaurants and bars. Ancoatswill become a safe place, which is attractive to visitors, with new publicspaces and new leisure uses helping to bring life back into this area of uniquecharacter and heritage.

Peter Hetherington, talking about the rise in canal side regeneration andredevelopment, wrote in the Guardian on May 3 2006: The centre piece,astride the Rochdale and Ashton Canals, is Ancoats Urban Village, which isthis year’s winner of the Waterways Renaissance Awards, run by theWaterways Trust and the British Urban Regeneration Association. Praising thescheme, made possible through £40m of public funding, which has attractedmore than £200m of private investment, the judges hailed a “stunning canal-heritage scheme…an outstanding project in an outstanding location”.

’In addition, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE)says the streets of Ancoats and New Islington are among the best in England.A CABE report praises the area’s partners for helping transform the `attractiveindustrial suburb' into an `elegant public space'. It says Ancoats and NewIslington show what can be achieved with a `clear design vision'.

13. Conclusions

20


Ancoats is often referred to as the world'sfirst industrial suburb

The development of Ancoats began inthe late 1700s, and peaked during theIndustrial Revolution, when Manchesterbecame known as 'Cottonopolis'

In 1989, part of Ancoats was designateda Conservation Area

Some 14 buildings are Grade 2 listed, 7of them at Grade 2*

The mill developments built along theline of the Rochdale Canal came fromthe marriage of steam power technologyand greatly improved spinning machines.

21


NWDA H9-04

September 2007

The Northwest Regional Development Agency PO Box 37Renaissance HouseCentre ParkWarrington WA1 1XBTel: +44 (0)1925 400 100Fax: +44 (0)1925 400 400

www.nwda.co.ukwww.englandsnorthwest.comwww.visitenglandsnorthwest.com

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