Salford resolves to grant permission for 995-home Greater Manchester PRS scheme

Acroy Limited, a subsidiary of developer Dandara, applied to the Council in August 2014 for permission to replace a vacant industrial building and a car park, on 1.7 hectares of land immediately north of the Lowry Hotel, with four new apartment buildings.

The proposed new buildings would range from 12 to 24 storeys in height and would contain 995 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.  A viability assessment has concluded that the proposed scheme would not be financially viable if affordable housing, or any financial contribution towards affordable housing, was provided. According to the design and access statement submitted with the application, the development has been designed as a PRS scheme.

The proposals also include 1,053 square metres of flexible ground floor commercial space, private amenity space, public realm improvements, 375 parking spaces and storage for 232 bicycles.

The plans were on the agenda for discussion at a meeting of the Council's planning and transportation regulatory panel last week, having been recommended for approval in a planning officer's report.

The report said it was "regrettable that a better mix [of housing] is not being proposed", with more than half of the proposed apartments having only one bedroom. However, the planning officer concluded that "bearing in mind the growing need for one bedroom accommodation, the mix achieved by other developments in the area and the generally excellent mixes provided by other developments in the city, it is considered that this development will contribute towards the provision of a balanced mix of dwellings in the area".