Urban regeneration magazine issue#02 2008
ford
sal A bright future Regeneration vision becomes reality 13
MediaCityUK shapes Salford’s revival 27
Bucking the trend: the housing market 41
BOLTON MANCHESTER WARRINGTON SALFORD LIVERPOOL PRESTON ASHTON
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
Contents
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Editor: Sarah Herbert sarah@3foxinternational.com
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Deputy editor: Kirsty MacAulay kirsty@3foxinternational.com Art Editor: Terry Hawes terry@3foxinternational.com Contributors: Julie Mackintosh, Adrienne Margolis, David Blackman, Alex Aspinall
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Advertisement sales: Lee Harrison lee@3foxinternational.com Production: Rachael Schofield rachael@3foxinternational. com Office manager: Sue Mapara sue@3foxinternational.com Managing director: Toby Fox toby@3foxinternational.com Printed by: Manson Images: Child Action, Alan Marten, Central Salford URC Published by: 189 Lavender Hill London SW11 5TB T: 020 7978 6840 F: 020 7978 6837 For Central Salford URC Digital World Centre No.1 Lowry Plaza Pier 8 Salford Quays M50 3U Chief executive Chris Farrow 0161 601 7738 Development director Karen Hirst 0161 601 7736 Company secretary Chris Hulme 0161 601 7735 Community regeneration director Chris Marsh 0161 601 4881 Head of programme management Jim Wensley 0161 601 7229
04 The vision
Felicity Goodey outlines Salford’s bold vision for the future
09 Collaboration
Just how well do Salford and Manchester get on? We meet the city council leaders to find out
13 Reality
The city’s regeneration dream is fast becoming reality as cranes shape Salford’s skyline
16 Map
Where to find the latest projects
An updates on the big news scheme bringing big jobs and big changes
18 Project update
34 Irwell City Park
Projects: 21 Greengate
37 Chapel Street
What stage are Salford’s developments at? Find out here
An update on what has happened so far on this major development site
Subscriptions and feedback: www.centralsalfordmagazine. com © 3Fox International Limited 2008. All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of 3Fox International Limited is strictly forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited or Central Salford URC.
27 MediaCityUK
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The river is set to reclaim its place in the heart of the city with a major overhaul
Moving forward while preserving the past. Chapel Street is set for change
41 Housing review
Salford’s population is growing and its thriving housing market reflects the changes happening in the city
48 Community regeneration
Getting people involved in Salford’s ambitious plans for the future
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Central Salford The Salford Vision
Long view Felicity Goodey, chairman of Central Salford URC, is determined that the transformation of Salford will make it beautiful, vibrant and prosperous for all its residents
As MediaCityUK bursts from the ground (right), plans are afoot to transform the housing offer of Salford too (above).
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n Stockholm this year, Central Salford formally took its place alongside Helsinki, Copenhagen, Zaragoza, Seoul, Singapore and a number of other major developments around the world which have also been classed as ‘new century cities’. The occasion was an international urban development conference,which was organised by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Central Salford’s MediaCityUK development (see page 27) is now recognised as a potentially globally significant media and new media-driven development and its anchor tenant, the BBC, is the envy of many other much bigger and better-known civic authorities around the globe. MediaCityUK is emerging from its Salford Quays site at the rate of £5 million a month. It is blamed, tongue in cheek, for an alleged tower
crane shortage in the rest of Greater Manchester! But, although this is the biggest inward investment project in the North of England, it is only one of a number of major developments in Central Salford which continue to flourish despite the general UK economic uncertainty. In the heart of the old city of Salford, a billion pound framework deal with English Cities Fund is beginning to take shape and local residents, understandably cynical about long awaited ‘jam tomorrow’, are beginning to believe that transformation is now within their grasp. The MediaCityUK development might make Central Salford famous but the real barometer of success will be when Chapel Street (see page 37) resounds to the happy chatter of people out and about enjoying themselves, as opposed to the
Central Salford issue#02 2008 Chapel Street’s transformation will create an attractive setting for historic buildings like Salford Cathedral (left).
whine of traffic which renders this, and many other parts of the city, a virtual nogo area for pedestrians and shoppers at present. Extensive schemes to create ‘boulevards’ along many of the roads which bisect the old city, the restoration of historic buildings and public spaces, and the careful development of new homes and business facilities will, bit by bit, transform this much abused historic quarter into an attractive, even beautiful, urban shopping and leisure destination for locals and the Manchester corporate community. The niche retail and creative industries are already waking up to Central Salford’s potential. Islington Mill, (pictured below middle), a creative arts development (see page 39) has already nurtured a highly successful pop group, The Ting Tings, who hit number one at their first attempt. The BBC philharmonic,
now officially another Salford ‘band’, are an increasingly familiar sight. But it is the quality of life for local Salfordians on which the value of all this development will ultimately be judged. The Spotlight programme (see page 48), bends the time, money and energy of a variety of public and private agencies into tackling the priorities which local people say will make a difference. This is long-term work which may not win the headlines or prestigious prizes, but it is every bit as important as the multi billion pound developments in actually transforming people’s lives. This magazine is designed to give a realistic picture of how, together with local communities and our many public and private sector partners, we are delivering on the pledge to make Central Salford ‘beautiful, vibrant and prosperous’. n
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MediaCityUK is only one of a number of projects which continue to flourish despite the UK’s economic uncertainty
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The physical regeneration of Central Salford is being supported by sustainable community initiatives.
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CENTRAL SALFORD issue#02 2008
Everybody needs good neighbours… Beneath any ‘Salford vs Manchester’ headline is a friendly rivalry between the two councils that benefits both cities. Julie Mackintosh reports.
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❤ ❤ “ All families fall out and argue – we have in the past, we will in the future – but we always make up
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alford Council locked in a duel with neighbouring Manchester”... “Salford Quays a battleground”… just a taster of the headlines that surrounded the contest to provide a new state-of-the-art home for the BBC. When the adjoining cities emerged as frontrunners for the corporation’s northwest expansion in 2006, rumours of rivalry were perhaps inevitable. But forget any dramatic tales of neighbours from hell, or pistols at dawn. Two years after Salford’s MediaCityUK was named as the broadcaster’s preferred location, the cities are closer and collaborating more than ever before. And, as a chat with both council leaders reveals, they’re refreshingly honest about their so-called neighbourly rivalry. “It’s natural. When two places are so close there is always going to be talk of competition,” explains Salford City Council leader John Merry. “Our cities meet at their very heart, so in many ways we’re like a family unit. All families fall out and argue – we have in the past, we will in the future – but we always make up.” Or, as Manchester’s leader Sir Richard Leese puts it: “There’s healthy rivalry and unhealthy rivalry. The former adds a bit of edge and makes everyone up their game, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that”. And, after all, with the boundaries between the two cities so blurred, the BBC’s decision to base itself in Salford is fantastic news for Greater Manchester as a whole. As Merry said at the time of the announcement: “This is the most important day for the city for a long time, but this is also a great time for the whole of the region”.
The financial benefits are without question. The Northwest Development Agency estimates the relocation will bring a £200 million per annum boost to the city’s economy, not to mention 15,500 jobs. Great rewards in themselves, but – longer term – both councils agree the BBC will boost the area’s reputation as a centre of excellence for media and an unlimited range of other companies exploiting digital technologies. With the proliferation of production companies, fresh ideas and established talent, when Felicity Goodey, chairman of Central Salford URC, declared “media is the new manufacturing”, she wasn’t exaggerating. Despite what those headlines two years ago might have suggested, Salford and Manchester have always worked closely together. It would be untenable for the cities to do anything else. Leese says: “I’m the councillor for Crumpsall and often shop in the Cheetham Village area of my ward. When I visit the bank I’m in Manchester, when I cross the road to visit the optician I’m in Salford. I often use this anecdote to highlight how inextricably linked we are. People here don’t care where the boundaries are; they just want better services and more opportunities. It’s a no-brainer really”. As both leaders are pleased to concede, the cities are working together now more than at anytime before. “Over the past few years, our relationship has undoubtedly become more joined up, far more organised and more structured,” says Leese, highlighting link-ups on housing renewal and city centre management and, ➔
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CENTRAL SALFORD Collaboration
❤❤ Quick fire: we put the leaders on the spot with these crucial questions.
more specifically, the impressive plans for Irwell City Park (see page 34). On a human level too, the chemistry between the leading players is very positive. “As well as working effectively together, we’ve built good personal relationships,” says Merry. “I sit on the board of New East Manchester URC and now Richard has joined us at Central Salford.” And just what does Leese see as the greatest challenges facing the URC team he has become a part of? “Well, resolving the future of transport infrastructure is one: some parts of the URC area are not very well connected. Another, generic to almost all regeneration projects, is addressing the level of skills in deprived areas”. But although Salford and Manchester are undoubtedly uniting for the greater good of the region, don’t expect homogeneity any time soon. “We will complement each other,” says Merry. “Using our different strengths can have a big impact on economic success, but there will be times when it’s appropriate for us to compete too.” And they’re not disagreeing on this, either. “Both places have distinct identities and these will remain,” he says. “What we’re doing is looking at the bigger economic picture. Much of the time that will involve collaboration but no, not always”. So there you have it. Neighbours: of course. Colleagues: absolutely. Friends: most of the time. And rivals: now and again. When the prize is big enough! ■
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What’s the biggest misconception about the city region? JM: That it’s ‘grim up north’. This is a frustrating myth that we will continue to challenge, as it couldn’t be further from the truth. RL: That we’re somehow inward-looking – it’s simply not the case. We’re an integral part of the North West and a key player in the UK economy and that’s the message we have to reinforce. What’s the biggest hurdle to regeneration? JM: Convincing people that this is one of the best places to live and work in the country and it’s just as easy – if not easier – to do business here than many other places in the UK. RL: I think it used to be parochialism, but not anymore. Changing the physical look of the city region is challenging. However if you look at an area like New Broughton, it’s clear how that is being transformed.
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CENTRAL SALFORD issue#02 2008
What we’re doing is looking at the bigger economic picture
Meet the leaders:
Can Salford and Manchester learn regeneration lessons from each other? JM: The way Manchester has used sport, namely the legacy of the Commonwealth Games, in its regeneration has been wonderful. I think Salford’s approach to housing, in particular pioneering mixed tenure council estates, can stand as a model for good practice. What can you bring to the board of Central Salford URC? RL: I hope to bring the insights of my regeneration experience, which began in Hulme 17 years ago. It’s important to share the mistakes of the past to make sure we don’t repeat them. I’m really looking forward to being involved.
John Merry was born in Birmingham 1956, a “proud adopted Salfordian” since leaving university. Before politics: Merry has a law degree from Liverpool Polytechnic. A career in retail management followed, which included a stint running his own secondhand bookshop. Council files: Elected to the Broughton ward in 1990, becoming deputy leader in 1998 and leader in May 2003. Education is a particular passion. Richard Leese was born in Mansfield in 1951 and has lived in Manchester since he was 28. Before politics: Leese graduated from Warwick University with a degree in pure maths and is an exteacher (including a stint in Duluth, Minnesota) and youth worker. Council files: Elected as councillor for Crumpsall in 1984, he has been leader for 12 years.
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
Making progress Central Salford’s vision for the city is fast becoming reality. Kirsty MacAulay finds out how things have changed in the past 12 months. Dramatic plans for the River Irwell, as it becomes central to Salford’s economy again.
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he original business case, in 2005, for Salford’s regeneration was to achieve £550 million of private investment and create 10,000 jobs by 2020. But things are going so well since its creation that Central Salford URC has upped the ante and is now looking at attracting £4 billion worth of investment and creating 30,000 jobs. That’s quite a jump. According to Chris Farrow, chief executive at Central Salford URC, however, it is a credible aspiration. “This is concrete reality, not a dream,” he says. Large-scale regeneration can be a slow process, but Central Salford is pushing the development of major schemes ahead at an impressive rate. The city’s leading regeneration project has garnered much publicity thanks to its high-profile new tenant: the BBC. The subject of much discussion since the BBC first proposed the relocation of several thousand employees to Salford, once the move to MediaCityUK was formally announced, things really started happening. As David Glover, construction director, Peel Holdings explains, “Progress since we started on site on 18th June 2007 has been as planned, which is very pleasing. There is still a lot to do but the pace of construction can be measured by the sheer number of tower cranes and the exciting influence on the skyline of the concrete structures, soon to be lost behind their cladding envelopes, punching skyward confirming that MediaCityUK is turning from an idea into a reality.” Meanwhile, although there is little physical evidence on site of the changes planned at Greengate (see page 21) things have been happening apace behind closed doors. David Chilton at English Partnerships explains: “As ever with schemes such as this there’s a lot of behind the scenes work which needs to be carried out before
any visible activity can start and that’s exactly what everyone is busy with at the moment.” Early this year funding was confirmed for the £8.5 million project, which will effectively re-engineer Greengate to create dramatic links between Salford and Manchester, extending the economic success of Manchester city centre into Salford. The scheme now has planning permission and funding courtesy of English Partnerships, whose key aim is to ‘achieve high-quality, well-designed, sustainable places for people to live, work and enjoy’. Chilton continues: “We are working with our partners, particularly Central Salford URC, to put in place a design team who will capture our ambition for the public realm so that we can then let a contract. The public realm is due to start on site next year.” In the historic quarter of Chapel Street, too, to the naked eye it could look like not much is happening, with improvements so far only made on
a ‘street corner basis’. But, according to Farrow, progress is being made. “It is vital to look at the area as a whole, something it has lacked in the past,” he says. “We may have to undertake compulsory purchase orders, but this is a big plan supported by big investors and we have to get it right. This is the project we’ll be judged by, as the dereliction is more ‘in your face’ here than anywhere else in Salford.” This is supported by comments from Lesley Chalmers, chief executive at English Cities Fund, the lead development partner for the area. “We have been involved as a partnership for over a year now and agree that what we needed to do had to be very robust, very well planned and very well based. We have had to collect an awful lot of the pieces of the jigsaw and examine each one, to ensure that the picture for this important route is right in the future. We have to make the most of the great things that are already there and bring in the highest quality to the work ➔
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MediaCityUK will transform both Salford Quays and the city’s economy.
we do. Chapel Street is a major route into the regional centre and it is very important that it looks good, feels good and operates well. We have got the opportunity to make something brilliant.” Salford’s potential is felt very strongly both by those involved in its renaissance and by its residents, with a strength of belief demonstrated by, for example, the support the Irwell City Park project has received. It may have seemed that the project would stall when it failed to win lottery funding, but it has retained the support of developers – all 22 of them – and the community, probably because it is one of the regeneration projects that will have the biggest day-to-day impact on local people. “The lottery bid appeared to tick all the boxes, so we were mystified when we did not win it but we have put it behind us and are working to create one of the best bits of public realm in the city centre,” explains Chris Oglesby, managing director of Bruntwood, the company undertaking the first phase of the project to reinstate a missing section of the riverside walkway beside the
Central Salford issue#02 2008
five-star Lowry hotel, linking New Bailey Street and Trinity Park. He continues: “Public and private sector need to work together to deliver it. There is a real sense of partnership, with Central Salford URC and the local authorities working together with the private sector in making sure it is delivered.” While Oglesby believes it will be a significant piece of new public realm, he has concerns about the infrastructure. “One of the biggest challenges is public transport connectivity,” he warns. “It is one of the critical elements of the city’s regeneration, the river itself and its redevelopment is important, creating a physical environment, but it’s vital that people can actually get there.” Pedestrian access will be improved through the Irwell City Park project but probably more significant are the plans to extend the tram system, and link the city centre to the suburbs. The expansion will provide new lines to Oldham and Rochdale, Droylsden and Chorlton as well as a direct link to the MediaCityUK site, improving connections to both Manchester and
Salford Quays. Four MediaCityUK trams were ordered last year and construction is likely to start early in 2009. The MediaCityUK link will double tram frequency to one every six minutes in peak hours. Philip Purdy is GMPTE’s Metrolink director: “A lot of work has taken place over the past year to make sure the new tram line can open in 2010,” he says. “MediaCityUK is expected to create 15,500 jobs and bring £1 billion to the region’s economy in its first five years, so it’s vital that people can rely on a good public transport system. We’re expecting thousands of people to use the metrolink service every day.” So, how will Central Salford URC manage these huge plans for the city? “This time last year the question was whether we could do anything,” says Farrow. “But now I think the real challenge is that there is a huge temptation to try to do everything. We need to stay grounded and not let it go to our heads. We must stay focused on delivering the few really big things for Salford. MediaCityUK is on site and will make a real difference to the entire region – Londoners relocating here will appreciate it is a much better place to do business and enjoy a great quality of life – but it’s just the start of a series of schemes that will change the entire regional economy.” A sentiment echoed by Crispin Tomlinson of law firm Davies Arnold Cooper, who have worked with the URC to showcase Central Salford to the London and South-East investment market. “Salford is very ambitious,” he says. “It is well located with excellent transport links, it has a large workforce and established industries, and the BBC relocation is a strong endorsement. We have a strong URC team leading the city’s regeneration, with infectious enthusiasm and a real passion and belief in what they are trying to achieve.” n
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CENTRAL SALFORD Map
What else is new?
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Middlewood Locks Fusion Fresh Zenith Albert Mill Millennium Tower City Lofts Broadway Abito, Salford Quays Metro@Exchange Quay Ramada/Etap Hotels Saltra
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CENTRAL SALFORD issue#02 2008
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CENTRAL SALFORD Development update
Development update
It’s not all plans and MediaCityUK. It is being built now. This is a round-up of some of the schemes that have been on site over the past 12 months CHAPEL STREET AREA/ SALFORD CENTRAL STATION/ MIDDLEWOOD AREA Middlewood Locks Valley and Vale Properties Outline planning consent was granted in April 2007 for the Middlewood Locks scheme. A major mixed use scheme comprising over 140,000sq m of residential, 65,000sq m commercial space, and 25,000sq m leisure/retail floor space. The restored Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal will run through the site and work is currently on-site to reinstate the canal. British Waterways were due to have completed infrastructure works in September 2008. Fusion Taylor Wimpey Completed in Spring 2007, this development by Taylor Wimpey occupies the south-west part of the Middlewood area. The seven-storey new build development comprises 212 apartments.
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Fresh Dylan Harvey Property The first phase of this mixed-use development is complete. It offers 141 apartments and ground floor commercial units within an 11-storey building. Phases two and three have planning consent and will create a further 337 apartments and over 3,000sqm of commercial space, in a 26-storey tower. Zenith Pinetree Developments This new development at the junction of Chapel Street and Oldfield Road offers 58 apartments with commercial space at ground and first floors. Albert Mill City South Developments Construction of this development, with 34 apartments and commercial space at ground and first floor levels on Oldfield Road is well under way.
Main: Middlewood Locks, Top: Fusion, Below: Fresh.
CENTRAL SALFORD issue#02 2008
THE QUAYS
ORDSALL AND WATERFRONT
Millennium Tower Millennium Estates This completed mixed-use scheme occupies a gateway position to Salford Quays. Development comprises 209 apartments and 6,000sq m of commercial floorspace.
Metro @ Exchange Quay, HBG Properties This commercial scheme fronting Trafford Road is now complete. The development comprises a six-storey building with 6,596sq m of office space Ramada/Etap Hotels Salford Quays The development of the linked Ramada and Etap Hotels on Trafford Road completed in June 2008. The Ramada comprises 135 rooms and the Etap 210 rooms. The hotel development includes restaurant and conference facilities.
City Lofts City Lofts This completed development comprises a 13/20 storey building with 160 apartments and ground floor commercial space. Broadway Prospect GB The full scheme will comprise three six-storey blocks with 180 one- and twobedroom apartments in total. Abito Salford Quays Developments, Ask Work started on site in spring 2007 for this mixed-use scheme with 290 residential units and 400sq m of commercial space.
Clockwise from top right: Metro, Ramada/Etap Hotels, Saltra, Millennium Tower, Abito and City Lofts.
Saltra David McLean Saltra offers one- and two- bedroom apartments, configured across six buildings, the development is now complete.
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
Greengate Big gains in funding and planning mean this vital quarter of Salford is really becoming its commercial hub
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lthough the economic slowdown is having some impact on Central Salford development plans for Greengate, the former heart of the city of Salford and a strategic gateway between Salford and Manchester city centre, are still very much on track. Since the development framework was adopted in January 2007, outline planning permission has been granted for the joint Ask Developments/ Network Rail 39,382sq m mixed-use scheme that will see the creation of an estimated 2,650 new residential units and up to 5,000 jobs over the next 10 to 15 years, while full planning permission for 1.9ha
of new public realm has also been secured. In March 2008, development partners Ask and Network Rail formally launched Greengate Embankment, the first project in the Greengate scheme. The first residential address, Ask’s Abito pod apartment complex, is complete as is phase one of Spectrum, Dandara’s 12-block apartment complex, which will eventually see the creation of 578 apartments. “Phase one has sold extremely well and is now fully occupied with a good mix of residents,” explains Peter Lackey, Dandara’s managing director. “Phase two, is well underway, with over 70% of them already sold off-plan.” ➔
Plans for Greengate will reconnect the two cities.
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Central Salford Projects: Greengate Askâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Abito development (far right), the bridge from Salford to Manchester (right), and views from Manchester to Salford (below).
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
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The completed development of Greengate will turn this area around
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What has been lost was very speculative but it is clear that Central Salford’s major developers and partners for the area have not been affected. As Ken Knott, chief executive, Ask Developments explains: “Our public partners Central Salford URC, Salford City Council and English Partnerships remain fully committed, as do Ask, to delivering the entire scheme over the next 10 to 15 years which has always been the delivery timeframe for Greengate.” What will a redeveloped Greengate mean for Salford’s continued regeneration? Tim Dickinson, principal surveyor at Network Rail, sees the development as being the key that will allow Greengate to unlock its wasted potential. “When you look at the entire project, you have an area of land at the moment that, come evening, is not very welcoming. What you have is a lot of low value uses. The completed development at Greengate will turn this around. It will create a whole new area of the city centre, and that is what is exciting.” While physically regenerating the city, Greengate will also be key to improving Salford’s commercial strength by actively inviting business and investment to flow into it. But it’s not all about business. Time and effort have been invested in ensuring the development meets the needs of Greengate’s future residents ➔
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Salf
Central Salford Projects: Greengate
who will be the backbone of a diverse and successfully integrated community area. As well as the estimated 2,650 new residential units, the project will also include the public realm and social infrastructure required to support them. It was the funding of this public realm, to the tune of £8.5 million by English Partnerships, which effectively gave the green light to the project in December 2007. “One of our key aims is to achieve high-quality, well-designed, sustainable places for people to live, work and enjoy, and Greengate certainly hits the mark”, explains Paul Spooner, English Partnerships regional director for the North-West and West-Midlands area. “It’s really important, both in terms of the physical reconnection of the two cities and also in bringing forward the regeneration and tangible benefits for people. “The work that we are funding forms part of the wider development which will create greater economic opportunities, an improved housing choice and new leisure and lifestyle opportunities.”
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The inclusion of high quality public space is, increasingly, an essential component of successfully realised regeneration projects. John Hughes of Ask Developments agrees. “Public realm is important because, while people and businesses are interested in the buildings, they are increasingly putting more demands on the spaces outside where they work and live,” he says. “It will also help with the commercial success of the development. People will see this amazing public realm and want to spend time there. It gives people more choice, and cities cannot have too much high-quality public realm. This was a key part of Salford’s masterplan, and the fact that we are going to deliver it as one of the first phases is fantastic.” With the design team for the public realm now appointed in the form of Whitelaw Turkington and Arup, with project management support from Faithful & Gould and the quantity surveyor skills of Turner & Townsend, the future is bright. n
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SUCCESS YOU CAN MEASURE
Regeneration specialists Keppie Massie are one of the most experienced strategic site assembly and compulsory acquisition consultants and we are proud to be working in Central Salford. We are currently dealing with £10 billion worth of regeneration projects involving over 10,000 property interests. The practice is experienced in advising on the entirety of the CPO process from inception to delivery. We also provide a full range of commercial property services including: Investment � Development � Letting/Disposals � Valuations � Landlord & Tenant � Rating � Compulsory Purchase � Regeneration � Property Management � Acquisitions
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email: liverpool@keppiemassie.co.uk
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The LPC Living difference
building truly sustainable communities LPC Living is a Salford-based, award-winning developer and urban regeneration specialist with a simple ethos - to provide everyone with the opportunity to enjoy home ownership at a realistic and affordable price. We believe that the key to sustainable regeneration is to consult and work hand-in-hand with local community groups and our regeneration partners to effect real change to the lives of local residents and businesses. Building homes for local families and first time buyers
In the last five years LPC Living has built more than 1000 homes in the North West, helping nearly 700 first time buyers buy their first home. LPC Living is the official partner of Salford City Council for the regeneration of Ordsall, which is located a couple of minutes from mediacity:uk. We are investing £150 million into the area creating nearly 1000 new homes, a new community health centre, shopping facilities, play areas, walkways and cycle paths. We have already built the first new family homes in Ordsall for ten years and delivered a state-of-the-art, £6.5 million primary school and children’s centre for 350 children.
Encouraging local children to get involved in regeneration
Working with the local community to improve the environment
If you’d like to know more about what we’re doing in Ordsall, and what we can do for you, call Simon Ashdown now on 0161 872 2622 LPC Living at the heart of regeneration in Ordsall
contemporary living... quality living... innovative living...
affordable living proud to be headline sponsor of
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
MediaCityUK MediaCityUK is big news. In providing the backdrop for the new era at the BBC, and setting new standards for opportunities for excellence in the creative realm, it is central to Salford’s regeneration. We catch up with how the scheme is progressing, and meet some of the current, and future, tenants
Cranes dominate the skyline on the MediaCityUK site and anticipation is growing.
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rom speculation as to whether it would ever happen to 13 tower cranes on site, a construction spend of £5 million a month and a comprehensive support programme in place from the public sector, it’s difficult to believe that MediaCityUK was ever a maybe. Since contracts were signed between the BBC and Peel Holdings at the end of May 2007, the pace of the development has been impressive. The site at Salford Quays is a hive of activity with giant concrete building cores dominating the landscape and the magnitude of the iconic waterfront
piazza, twice the size of Trafalgar Square, just starting to emerge. Impressive though it will undoubtedly be, MediaCityUK is clearly about much more than the physical development. As Professor Michael Joroff, of the Masachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and advisor to new century city developments worldwide suggests, “These new century cities, of which MediaCityUK is one, share a common goal: they are places that promote human and social capital, to jumpstart and drive development within a decade or two. They are about inventing the future.” ➔
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Central Salford Projects: MediaCityUK
MediaCityUK is designed as a 24hour creative community of living, working and learning space.
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
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Central Salford Projects: MediaCityUK
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This is a national project of international significance. We have to get it right
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Felicity Goodey, Chairman of Central Salford URC, worked closely with Professor Joroff during the early stages of putting together the bid for the BBC and shares this sentiment. “The bid used the BBC as the catalyst to unlock a potentially globally significant city which will attract a huge range of talent and businesses, all sparking off each other, finding new ways of exploiting digital technology. That’s what the BBC found so attractive. They have been able to use this to restructure the whole of the BBC nationally and make it fit to retain its leading edge in a globally competitive digital world.” But MediaCityUK is not all about the BBC. In 2007, some three months before the BBC finalised their decision to move to Salford, The Pie Factory started operating from the MediaCityUK site. Providing sets and space to programme
makers; over 2,000 people have worked on productions there for 20 companies. Andy Sumner, director of The Pie Factory, explains: “It’s great that the BBC is coming in as anchor tenant, but it only represents around 10% of MediaCityUK. The BBC is a really good brand, one that people trust, but the whole concept of MediaCityUK is that they will be part of a bigger melting pot, a mix of people who come up with different ideas, who think differently. That is the kind of mix we are looking to achieve.” For the University of Salford the development of MediaCityUK couldn’t be more auspicious: it is planning a physical presence on the site and, cementing relations with its soon-tobe neighbours, it has already signed a partnership agreement with the BBC to open up new pathways into
Central Salford issue#02 2008
The new BBC buildings at MediaCityUK are well under way.
employment in the media industry and develop new talent within the region. “The plans for MediaCityUK sit pretty well with our expertise, experience and plans for the future,” explains Adrian Graves, registrar and secretary at the University of Salford. “The university has had a long engagement with a wide range of creative industries such as music and digital technologies, through our arts and sciences facility. We want to colocate with the industry that we’re serving.” He continues, “There is an extraordinary history of achievement up here in the north and distinctive, very substantial creative output up here. It’s really great timing – and not just for Salford students. We want to work closely with other universities to complement and broaden the educational provision.”
The broad mix of academics and organisations working from MediaCityUK will clearly have an impact on the way companies like the BBC will work, something which Adrian Van Klaveren, controller of Radio Five Live and one of the BBC departments on the move, is looking forward to. “Those new relationships are very important to us and they will be much more fluid relationships than in the past – genuinely creative. The BBC can get involved through training and as a 24-hour station we will get a lot of benefits, but will also give a lot back. Clearly, we’re bringing in people who are energetic and creative and we’ll be exploiting the potential of people who are already part of Salford too. There is a sense of pride and potential about the city and we’re making the most of that, it is a place that is reawakening and realising what it can be.” The excitement being generated by MediaCityUK is already raising aspirations for the area. It is this sense of opportunity which Central Salford and its partners are making a concerted effort to capitalise on, ensuring the local community feel the benefit of living near one of the world’s most state-ofthe-art digital media hubs. Apprenticeship schemes are already under way. Bovis Lend Lease and the
Salford Construction Partnership are opening up construction jobs to local residents, while the BBC and Salford City Council are working to develop new and exciting access to careers in the media industry. The Oasis Academy for 14–19 year olds, with a specialism in media and ICT with enterprise, opens the doors to its temporary home at Hope High School in September 2008 pending its move to the MediaCityUK site. But this is just a snapshot of the comprehensive support programme being developed by Salford City Council, Central Salford URC, the NWDA and a wide range of partners, to ensure the economic and social benefits of the development realise their full potential. Felicity Goodey says: “MediaCityUK is the largest inward investment project in the North of England. This is a national project of international significance. We have to get it right because this will not only transform the lives of local people, but it will help businesses across the country to use digital technology to win a competitive edge worldwide. Salford Quays was the port which fuelled the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century. If we get this right MediaCityUK could be the portal for a digital revolution of the twenty first century. From port to portal!” n
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Central Salford Projects: MediaCityUK
It speaks volumes for MediaCityUK that the BBC decided to relocate so much of its output to Salford. The move clearly offers new opportunities for the corporation as Caroline Thomson, the BBC’s Chief Operating Officer, explains: Q: What parts of the BBC will be moving to Salford? A: Our original intention was to move just under 1,500 BBC posts to Salford but earlier this year I announced plans to move a further 10% taking the total to 1,620. There will now be an even stronger presence for BBC Future Media and Technology in Salford than originally thought, over 500 will be based in Salford from 2011. We are also moving more journalists. BBC Radio 5 Live news programmes will now join the rest of the station and there will be an increased national news gathering presence with the creation of a news hub with additional correspondents. These departments will join those also scheduled to move – namely Children’s, BBC Learning and BBC Sport. And, of course, we are relocating all the BBC people from our existing Manchester base, together with all the network output they already produce.
Q: How will the BBC ensure it is accessible to the communities surrounding MediaCityUK? A: The new buildings at MediaCityUK make a virtue of being more open to interaction with audiences. It’s all about demystifying the whole process of programme making. There are production areas on the ground floor where people will be able to see what’s going on, television won’t just be something that’s made in mysterious darkened studios, hidden from public view. People will be able to take a look and feel a sense of ownership. Salford is a blueprint for the way the BBC will connect with communities in the future. Q: What opportunities will the BBC’s presence bring for Salford? A: In Salford, by working with the local community and the developers of MediaCityUK, we hope to create a new powerhouse of media production and innovation for the North of England. The aim is that the BBC’s presence is a catalyst for change and regeneration that will bring new opportunities to talented individuals all across the region. Career opportunities will be significantly enhanced by our
Caroline Thomson, chief operating officer, BBC
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Salford is the future of the BBC. This is the way we want to develop in the 21st century
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presence and that of the other media organisations. We are already actively involved in educational outreach programmes and I’m delighted that the relocation of the BBC Philharmonic to the site is going to create new opportunities for young musicians. With this stronger BBC presence, there will be even greater potential for Salford and the whole of the North of England to become a world class centre of media innovation and technology for the 21st century. n
Key mil e
stones
July 20 06 – Me diaCity Central UK bid team, le Sa d by as the B lford URC, are confirm BC ’s pre ed ferred b for the re idde lo London cation of five m r -based ajor BBC de Januar partme y 2007 nts – BBC Tr ust con firmed th BBC ’s m at the ov departm e of five majo r ents to Sa would g o ahea lford d, contrac tual neg subject to otiation May 20 s 07 – Pla nning p e rm is s ion gran BBC buil ted for dings June 20 07 – BB C signe Holding d contracts wit h Peel s July 20 07 – Ph ase one construc began tion work on site Septem ber 200 7 – Salfo rd Cit and Me y Council tro agreem link signed en the tram t to bring to the h e MediaC ityUK an art of d City Co uncil sig Salford ned sponsors h BBC Phil ip deal with the harmon Novem ic ber 200 7 – Exec utive MediaC team for ityUK is a Februa ppointe r y 2008 d – BBC a nnounc es 10% increase in MediaC posts moving ity to permiss UK and plannin ion gran g ted state-ofthe-art M for ediaCit studio yUK April 20 08 – Pla nning p the pub ermission gran ted for lic realm July 20 08 – Me diaCityU K celeb on site rates on e year
Q: MediaCityUK will be a state-ofthe-art digital media centre, as anchor tenant how will this impact the way the BBC does business? A: Salford is the future of the BBC. It is the start of a process for the way we want to develop for the entire BBC in the 21st century. I call it the ‘networked’ BBC: one that is built around sustainable
centres of creative production expertise linking every part of the country. Instead of the old hub and spoke arrangement, where London is the hub and the regions are the spokes, the BBC of the 21st century will harness the power of human networks, tapping into a pool of creative energy across the entire country. Key centres like Salford will be catalysts, promoting interaction both on their own site and throughout the region.
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Cobbetts - your urban regeneration partner... Providing ideas for partnership. Cobbetts has vast experience providing ideas and frameworks for development and change.
Key projects include: • Ordsall Regeneration for Salford City Council in partnership with LPC Living • Riverside for Bruntwood and Salford City Council in a joint venture facilitated by Central Salford URC and NWDA • Media City for Peel Holdings in co-operation with Salford City Council, Central Salford URC and NWDA
We provide solutions for urban regeneration across the country for public and private organisations. For more information please contact: Tony Fitzmaurice on 0845 165 5227, 07712 661948 or tony.fitzmaurice@cobbetts.com Tiffany Cloynes on 0845 404 1603, 07775 585491 or tiffany.cloynes@cobbetts.com
www.cobbetts.com Birmingham I Leeds I London I Manchester Cobbetts LLP is a limited liability partnership
Central Salford Projects: Irwell City Park
Irwell City Park Such is the importance of the river to the future of the city that even a major funding setback could not dampen its regeneration progress, as the private sector stepped in
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any of the most desirable city destinations in the world, the likes of Barcelona, lisbon and Copenhagen are all associated with rivers or waterfront. Indeed, some of these waterways have become almost as well known as the cities themselves. In the past decade the importance of rivers has been rediscovered, along with a love for waterside living. Salford is no exception. In its industrial revolution heyday the river Irwell was the lifeblood of the city, but its illustrious history has long since been forgotten, with the city turning its back on its vital waterway. fortunately that is set to change. Irwell City Park is a transformational project that will fundamentally bring the river Irwell back to life and create an internationally recognised waterfront destination for Greater Manchester. Co-ordinated by Central Salford UrC, this sub-regional collaboration between Salford, Manchester and trafford will link successful attractions such as the lowry, Imperial War Museum north and Manchester Cathedral, along an accessible 8km stretch of the river, to generate critical mass and the footfall needed to encourage further investment and
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connect key employment centres such as MediaCityUK to the regional centre. Irwell City Park will be a major catalyst for supporting and accelerating the economic growth of the Greater Manchester region. the mix of public realm and waterside development will ultimately create an urban park covering 280ha and a new sustainable transport route for residents and visitors alike. Potentially, Irwell City Park would create 3,650 new jobs, generate an extra 9.8 million visits to the area and an estimated £158 million net additional GVa. Unsurprisingly it has been championed as one of the most important projects for the entire city region in decades. the Irwell corridor is one of the most significant areas for economic and development investment platforms outside the southeast, sustaining in excess of £4 billion of potential investment. In 2007 the second stage £25m bid for lottery funding to deliver the project was unfortunately unsuccessful but it received unanimous praise from the community and developers for its thoroughness and quality of design. the popularity of the project has ensured that its delivery remains a priority for the
public/private partnership involved. In february 2008, sponsored by Central Salford UrC and the nWda, trinity ICP – a joint venture company between Bruntwood and Salford City Council, bought a 1,000sq m site from Guardian Media Group to create highquality public space, and the first new section of Irwell City Park’s proposed walkway. according to Chris oglesby, chief executive of Bruntwood, “one side of the Calatrava bridge is complete while the other remains as it was. It will be very satisfying to complete this river bank section. the quality of this project will set the tone for the rest of the park.” Bids for funding for the rest of the scheme are already being made with the aim to start pre-implementation works – detailed design and feasibility assessments, small scale land acquisition, site and survey investigations, approvals, stakeholder involvement, and examination of community benefit potential – in 2009, with work starting on site in 2010. Planning guidance adopted in March 2007 by the three councils will ensure the project will link regeneration initiatives, integrate well with the surrounding area, and create conditions for sustainable growth.
Central Salford issue#02 2008
The plans for Irwell City Park will provide muchneeded open space for residents and the perfect opportunity for investors.
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The project is so popular as it is all encompassing and benefits so many people
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Indeed, one of the key functions of the development will be the connections it creates between areas of need and areas of opportunity. “The great thing about the river is that it goes through a lot of the areas of need and will connect them to the city centre helping to spread the economic benefits,” points out Tom Bloxham, chairman of Urban Splash, a Salford developer. “The best analogy is the South Bank of the Thames, which
was run down and disconnected but has been opened up through the introduction of a walkway.” The creation of Irwell City Park will establish the wholesale transformation of the riverfront in Salford, Manchester and Trafford, building on the success of the five-star Lowry Hotel, where the river is the centrepiece of the development. Jason Harding, general manager of the Lowry Hotel, has high hopes for Irwell City Park. “I think the project is so popular as it is all encompassing and benefits so many people. It opens up the rivers and parkways, which we’re lacking in our city centres, and allows a great new space for residents and visitors to enjoy.” The combination of various projects with the river as a unifying thread is Irwell City Park’s biggest strength, according to Kevin Brady, assistant chief executive at Salford City Council. “Irwell City Park will have very different geographies. The river is being played out in a very different context from one development to another, and the different schemes in various zones will give it a sense of uniqueness. “With this project we’re expecting to see Manchester and Salford punching above their weight at international
levels. There is capacity to expand and Irwell City Park is right at the heart of that expansion.” The partnership between public and private sector is vital to the project, with a percentage of Section 106 agreements in the area committed to the project, although, as Kevin Brady at Salford City Council is keen to point out, they won’t be the project’s sole funding stream. And the partnership is not just about money. “The private sector brings a very different perspective,” says Karen Hirst, development director at Central Salford URC. “We’ve had really strong support and enthusiasm from the private developers who are 100% behind us and taking a strong lead on developments.” The Environment Agency, as a regulator, has been a key member of the project board and their support for Irwell City Park has been critical in delivering the project. According to Steve Moore at the Environment Agency, the honesty and openness between the partners has been second to none. “The relationship between the three local authorities has been great; they are passionate about delivery and willing to work together to achieve one single goal. “There is an element of trust. Everyone understands the bigger picture and realises it is this that will add value to each development – it is not about square footage but quality of environment.” There is no doubt the project will happen. n
Essential figures ■ 13.1ha of additional brownfield land reclaimed ■ 5 new bridges and improvements to six others ■ 5.4km of footpaths/cycle routes ■ 96,180sq m of high quality new public realm ■ 9.8 million extra visitors to the area ■ £158m additional GVA in Greater Manchester ■ £940 million of private sector investment
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BUILDING THE FUTURE ON QUALITY SUPPORTING SALFORD’S REGENERATION SINCE 1973
EST 1959 Orbit House & Emerson House Eccles
The Lowry Outlet Mall, Imperial Point & Sovereign Point Salford Quays
Lowry Outlet Mall Plaza Reception
Lowry Outlet Mall Retail Shops
Sovereign Point
Sovereign Point
Apartment Lounge
Apartment Bedroom
Sovereign Point Penthouse Garden
The Emerson Group has long enjoyed a successful working relationship with the City of Salford. Ever since 1973, when The Group’s Commercial Division launched the 8-storey Orbit House in Eccles which was soon followed by the 48,000 sq ft 10-storey Emerson House, Eccles it has continued to provide office accommodation of the highest quality. Today, one of the primary tenants is Urban Vision Partnerships Ltd, a joint venture between Salford City Council, Capita Symonds and Morrison plc, whose key role is to champion the City’s regeneration. Others tenants in Eccles include The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Niche Healthcare and Housing People Ltd.
Imperial Point
Apartment Tower
Both buildings are now enclosed in a secure joint complex with new multi-storey car parking facilities. The construction of a new Law Courts building to the rear of these offices is due to take place in the near future. Acquired some ten years ago, the main tenant at St. James’s House, Pendleton is Salford Primary Care Trust, occupants of over 50,000 sq ft. Recently awarded ‘Secure By Design’ building status, the managed and serviced offices provide an ideal seedbed for new companies’ growth, together with a flexible environment for larger, more established organisations. Situated in Salford Quays’ premier waterfront location, The Lowry Outlet Mall is a landmark mixed-use development offering shopping, leisure, fitness club, cinema, restaurants, bars and office accommodation. Residents in the award-winning residential apartment buildings enjoy panoramic views, looking out over an area of outstanding architectural interest which includes internationally recognised landmarks like The Lowry arts centre, the Millennium Footbridge, The Imperial War Museum North and Manchester United’s famous ‘Theatre of Dreams’ football stadium.
Sovereign Point Apartment Tower
Coming soon to Pacific Quays, one of Salford’s most vibrant business locations, are Broadway House and Curzon House. Occupying a prominent position adjacent to the historic Manchester Ship Canal, these two 3-storey buildings will, between them, provide over 50,000 sq ft of superior Grade A office accommodation. With a planning application submitted for a third residential apartment tower at The Lowry Outlet Mall, Salford Quays, The Group continues to demonstrate its commitment to, and confidence in, the future of Salford. Complementing Imperial Point and Sovereign Point, this exciting 20-storey development will provide 98 luxury apartments with commanding views over Huron Basin. This prestigious scheme is expected to be of particular interest to BBC staff planning to re-locate from London in readiness for the futuristic MediaCity:UK at Salford Quays. This purpose-built ‘media zone’ is expected to create up to 10,000 jobs and add £170m to the regional economy. In summary the Group’s long-term involvement in Salford has led to the creation of excellent landlord / tenant relationships, which has resulted in repeat business, with many tenants choosing to expand or transfer to other premises in the Group’s portfolio.
Proposed New Apartment Tower at The Lowry Outlet Mall
Proposed Broadway House Salford Quays
Future Media City:UK Adjacent to The Lowry Outlet Mall
St. James’s House Pendleton
BUILDING SUCCESS STORIES FROM THE U.K. TO PORTUGAL & THE U.S.A. Emerson International: Building & Letting of Offices, Development of Golfing Communities & Holiday & Residential Accommodation in Portugal & the U.S.A. Jones Homes: Residential Developers - Detached Homes, Mews Homes, Townhouses & Apartments Orbit Developments: Developers of Prestigious Offices, Retail, Leisure & Business Parks Jones Contracts: Design & Build Projects. Offices, Industrial, Retail & Leisure Developments Holidays Select: Specialising in Worldwide Holidays, particularly the Portuguese Algarve & the U.S.A.
Emerson House Heyes Lane Alderley Edge Cheshire SK9 7LF
Tel:
01625 588400
Fax:
01625 585791 www.emerson.co.uk
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
Chapel Street With its much-loved historic buildings, and strong community groups, preservation is as important as transformation in regenerating this key Salford thoroughfare Plans to transform Chapel Street will make it ‘more Salford, less anywhere’.
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hapel Street is Salford’s historic core and links the River Irwell, at the boundary with Manchester, to the traditional centre and the University of Salford. Yet years of decline and piecemeal redevelopment have left the area a shadow of its former self. The creation of attractive public spaces and a concerted effort to encourage business and enterprise in the area are now painting a bright new portrait of life as a revitalised Chapel Street links the University of Salford to the corporate centre. Central to this scheme is English Cities Fund’s (ECf) 200,000sq m mixeduse development, which will transform nine hectares around Chapel Street with 130,000sq m of commercial space and 800 new homes, creating a new gateway to the city centre. From the outside progress may have appeared slow, but masterplanning is well under way, along with land assembly and implementation planning. Matt Crompton, joint managing director of Muse, ECf’s development arm, says: “It is encouraging to see the amount of progress that is happening to lay the legal and planning foundations for the Chapel Street scheme. Whilst it is frustrating that this progress does not manifest itself immediately into bricks and mortar, its contribution to the long term success of the scheme cannot be underestimated.” In any future development, the area’s impressive past will play a vital part. Among Chapel Street’s numerous claims to fame are that it was the first street in the UK to be lit by gas, it was the location of the UK’s first free publiclending library. It was also in its pubs that Frederick Engels and Karl Marx would confer. Royal Salford Hospital, St Philip’s Church and Salford Cathedral have all helped to create Chapel Street’s identity in the past, and will be just as
important in ensuring its future success. Kelvin Campbell is managing director at Urban Initiatives, the company responsible for creating Chapel Street’s development framework. “One of the difficulties is about identity. In the past, Chapel Street had very much a civic function, with the town hall and the hospital. All those functions have moved out, so it is about creating new identity.” He continues, “I would not treat the existing buildings as a constraint on development, more of a positive asset for the area. You have something to hang the rest of the development off. What we have to do is make sure we improve the setting of those assets by, for example, improving the views towards the cathedral and the arrangement of developments around St Philip’s church.” Campbell is buoyed by the progress, and highlights the community
consultation exercises as being particularly encouraging. A great deal of work has been dedicated to ensuring the people living and working in the area must play a part in guiding its development. Since November 2007, two ‘Time for Action’ consultation newsletters have been produced, each followed by a three-week consultation period which have been fed into the development framework. This will ensure that the subsequent detailed masterplan and implementation strategy for the Chapel Street area will deliver real benefits for the residents and businesses. Development partner Salix Homes, Salford City Council’s housing management company, has also been involved in community consultation exercises for future developments on the Islington estate. Joe Willis, director of investment and regeneration at Salix➔
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
Historic buildings like St Philips Church will be given a more attractive setting.
Homes, says: “We have worked closely with the residents’ steering group to provide a variety of opportunities to enable local residents to articulate their priorities and engage and influence the process.” Until builders appear on-site, community consultation is one of the areas where frustrated local residents can see meaningful progress being made. Rev Andy Salmon, local resident, priest at St Philip’s Church and governor at St Philips primary school, has been active throughout the consultation stages. “The main frustration that people have is that there has been a lot of talk for a long time,” he says. “There is Islington Mill A mixed-use cultural space created out of a former cotton mill, Islington Mill is an example of how one of the area’s existing assets is being renewed, helping to shape Chapel Street’s new identity. The brainchild of creative entrepreneur Bill Campbell, Islington Mill houses 39 workspaces, the Bureau Art Gallery, a recording studio and an informal club venue. It has played an important role in the provision of accessible space for arts, creative industries and cultural activity within Salford, Greater Manchester and beyond. “I spent time in London in
immense potential in the area, and things really could take off, but it all seems to happen so slowly. “The community consultation events have been useful. People have got involved and people want to know what is happening. The proof will be in the pudding. I am keen that the future development in the area builds a vibrant, positive community. That is what the talk is about and people are keen for that to happen.” The historically aware, communityfocused regeneration model for the area seems to have struck a chord with the members of the Chapel Street Business Group.
the early 1990s and saw how people created cultural spaces. When I came back to Salford, I realised that there was potential for it here,” recalls Bill. It has taken 10 tough years to create but the prominence of the mill in the provision of creative studio, workspace, gallery, exhibition and performance space has grown. The value and uniqueness of the mill was highlighted most recently by The Ting Tings, when the band, who occupy live/work space at the mill, reached number one in the UK singles chart with their first release. Campbell now has the support of Central Salford URC as the space continues
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It is a gradual process, but already things are happening
Development manager Jon Monk says: “The nice thing about the plans for Chapel Street is that it is not just about looking to the future, it is also about looking after the past. Preserving the old buildings as well as bringing in new ones is important. It must be a massive challenge.” If Chapel Street is to become Salford’s new commercial hub, Monk and his colleagues are going to be heavily involved with promoting the area as a place to do business. “Encouraging business and enterprise has a massive role in regenerating the Chapel Street area,” says Monk. “There are improvements to be made, but there are a lot of reasons for businesses to be based in this area of the city.” It is a gradual process, but already things are happening. As further investment arrives, perceptions will change, and Chapel Street’s renaissance will begin to materialise. The street that for years was just ‘the quickest way out of Manchester’ will become a destination in its own right once more. n
to evolve. “The URC has been very engaged at the highest levels from the start,” he says, adding that the organisation has understood that part of what makes Islington Mill unique is that, so far, it has not evolved to a plan. However, Campbell believes as ideas for the next phase move forward, “we need to find the right equilibrium between the ad hoc way in which this was created and placing things on a more formal footing.” The development plan for Islington Mill is now in its final stages, complemented by a strategy to drive the development and sustainability of the wider creative aspects of Chapel Street.
Islington Mill is a key part of Salford’s creative and cultural quarter.
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Dandara
Blackfriars Road - Manchester
EMBRACING BUSINESS IN SALFORD As a Salford based residential and commercial developer, Dandara are committed to delivering high quality schemes, which offer a genuine sense of community to those that live and work there. With more than 30,000sq ft of commercial space now sold in the area it is clear that Salford is fast becoming a choice location to work and invest. Working alongside local Salford companies, such as architects OMI, has allowed Dandara to contribute positively to the city and with both commercial space and residential apartments still available for sale, Dandara look forward to continuing this contribution in the future as the area continues to blossom.
FTB forum
Spectrum Courtyard
Salford Uni Art Exhibition
Commitment to First Time Buyers
Commitment to Education
Commitment to Local Economy
At their flagship scheme, Spectrum, located on Blackfriars Road owner occupiers have been actively targeted with initiatives, which are both relevant and innovative. Through establishing First Time Buyer (FTB) forums the needs and aspirations of this target market were understood. In response to this a range of incentives were developed including the Save To Buy Scheme, reservation of 20 apartments under £145,000 solely for FTBs and packages to cut upfront costs associated with buying a property, all of which have been very successful to date.
As part of an ambition for strategic alliances with local organisations, Dandara developed a relationship with the University of Salford. It was felt it was important to help build relationships between industry and academia. Dandara are currently working closely with the School of Art and Design on various projects including supporting post graduate artists, providing a commercial shop window for students and enhancing courses through live brief projects. This is a long term relationship which Dandara hope to grow and continue for many years to come.
Dandara has a strong commitment to supporting the local economy particularly through employment and training. An apprentice scheme was created and fully funded by Dandara at Spectrum. Both key local contractors to effect major work packages and key material suppliers were proactively sourced. In 2007 on the Spectrum development alone Dandara put £4.7m back into the economy through wages of employing local and unemployed people on the project For more information on Dandara’s Spectrum development please contact their sales team on:
0161 829 3040 spectrum-manchester.com
Central Salford issue#02 2008
Living the dream A few years ago, Salford terraces were changing hands for cash in the pub. Now, demand outstrips supply. David Blackman looks at what changed.
A
decade ago, Salford was in the grip of a housing market collapse. Lack of demand meant that large swathes of the borough were characterised by high vacancy rates, with houses changing hands for as little as £5,000 cash. Roughly a third of the terraced homes in the Seedley and Langworthy neighbourhoods, where the problem of housing market collapse was most acute, were empty and boarded up. The depth of Salford’s problems made it a prime candidate for assistance when the government unveiled its housing market renewal programme five years ago. Salford, and nearby east Manchester, have since been awarded approximately £360m worth of assistance under the initiative. Today developers and planners are talking in terms of housing growth rather than market renewal. The population is increasing in Salford and people are moving back in. Salford City Council must now provide for 28,800 new dwellings between 2003 and 2021. This represents a threefold increase on the
completions envisaged five years ago. Reflecting this step change, Central Salford URC’s own business plan has increased the level of expected housing completions by 2016 from 9,600 to 16,000 units. Central Salford is one of the main focuses of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities’ (AGMA) application for designation as one of the government’s new housing growth points. Such a designation would symbolise the remarkable turnaround in Salford’s housing fortunes. When the initiative was dreamt up a couple of years ago, it was designed for the south of England’s growth hotspots. One of the key factors fuelling this upsurge in demand is the BBC’s decision to locate to Salford’s MediaCityUK complex. Not only will this directly lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs in Salford, it will also spark spin-off employment as companies move in to provide support services for the BBC. Simon Ashdown, development director of Salford-based residential developer Legendary Property Company (LPC) Living, points out that MediaCityUK is not the only major project currently being developed in the conurbation. The billions of pounds ➔
New housing options, from terraces at Hulton Square (top) to flats at Greengate (above).
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Central Salford Housing review
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one of the key factors fuelling the upsurge in demand is the BBC’s decision to locate to Salford’s MediaCityuK complex
Main pic: LPC Living’s Hulton Square. Below: regeneration will make the city an attractive location.
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worth of investment being pumped into Greater Manchester’s hospitals and universities will help Salford weather the current housing market downturn, he argues. “If there is a major downturn, it will survive on the basis that there are still more people coming into the city.” Undoubtedly investment on this scale will drive up prices - the challenge is to ensure local people are not forced out. affordable, quality housing will be key. But just what is the housing product needed to meet this demand? to find out, the UrC commissioned property consultant drivers Jonas to carry out a study. “one of the issues it will need to address is how we provide family housing in a dense urban setting, which is more than the traditional twoand three-storey housing,” says david Whelan, principal consultant at drivers Jonas, for the study, pointing to the
cooling in enthusiasm among both property developers and planners for apartment-led solutions. the study will also look into the question of affordability. the average new home in Salford is on the market for £135,000, many times the area’s average annual income. It will also examine how the objectives of creating affordable and socially balanced new communities can be achieved against the backdrop of the tough new ecobuilding rules outlined in the Code for Sustainable Homes. Whelan acknowledges that the scale of housing growth being envisaged in Salford represents a ‘dramatic change’, both in quality and quantity, and that few models exist for what Salford wants to achieve. Schemes such as Cibitas’s Holt town development in east Manchester, which offers the mix of ➔
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Salford Advert A/W
10/3/08
1:11 pm
Page 1
big in Salford
Central Salford URC Clippers Quay Greengate Embankment Nikal Investments Red City Developments Salford Quays Salford University UK Immigration Service Greengate***
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EXPECT MORE Drivers Jonas 5 New York Street Manchester M1 4JB Tel: 0161 247 7373
www.driversjonas.com ***Greengate courtesy of Watson Associates **Clipper Quay courtesy of Ask Developments *Sillavan Estate, courtesy of Nikal Investments
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
The population is increasing, people are actually moving back in
Urban Splash’s Chimney Pot Park scheme (below) transformed streets of run-down terraces
ground level. However, the existing brick street frontages have been retained, preserving a slice of Salford’s distinctive housing heritage for future generations. The first 108-house phase of the £40 million scheme, a proportion of which was reserved for first-time buyers under an English Partnerships initiative, sold out within two and a half hours of going on sale. The rest of the scheme is due to be completed this spring. “To think that when we first came up with the idea for the upside down terraced houses here, there was a lot of scepticism,” says Richard Oakes, managing director, Urban Splash. That was literally turned on its head with huge demand, particularly from first-time buyers. It has certainly given us and our partners in the development – Salford City Council and English Partnerships – a great deal of satisfaction.” Broughton In the Broughton area of Salford there are two schemes under way. In Lower Broughton, Countryside Properties has cleared more than 300 homes with help
from the Manchester/Salford housing market renewal pathfinder, to make way for 700 dwellings, with the aim of setting new standards in large-scale inner city residential development. The scheme is designed to appeal to local residents and those working in Manchester city centre, just two miles away. As Alan Cherry, chairman of Countryside Properties says: “I am hugely excited about what’s happening in Salford. It has so much to offer in the region and is geographically at a very advantageous spot, right next to the centre of Manchester.” Duncan Sutherland, chief executive of regeneration company Inpartnership, is working with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Salford City Council to develop a new scheme in Higher Broughton. He says: “We spent a considerable amount of time analysing the needs of the local population, enabling us to design groundbreaking new homes that will meet their wider ranging needs.” The secure garages, courtyards and private gardens are all features which ➔
housing types Salford wants to see, are still on the drawing board. Some of Salford’s existing developments offer some strong pointers to how the next generation of the city’s housing could shape up. Seedley and Langworthy The most eye-catching housing regeneration scheme in Salford is probably the groundbreaking Chimney Pot Park development by Urban Splash, where the award-winning developer refurbished 350 ‘Coronation Street’ style terraced houses in Langworthy, that were due for demolition. The old cramped houses have been transformed into spacious contemporary ‘upside down’ homes and in the process scooped the 2008 top housing design award. Urban Splash has gutted the houses and remodelled them, with spacious living quarters, including dining areas, on first-floor level, with the bedrooms and bathrooms at
Coutryside Properties is setting new standards in large-scale inner city developments.
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who controls your supply?
how green is your city?
could you collect all your own water? how big is your footprint? can we afford a low-carbon future?
whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in your dustbin?
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
Overall Salford seems to be bucking the trend of the downturn in the housing market
are unavailable in the city centre, while the scheme has being designed around a series of ‘Homezones’, featuring special traffic calming measures which keep speeds down to 20 mph. ”We have specifically targeted the majority of our house designs at families requiring five, six or seven bedrooms,” says Sutherland. Of the 160-home first phase, 70% has been sold off-plan, with over 90% of purchasers living within walking distance of the scheme, showing that Broughton Green is delivering for the local community. In addition, the bulk of buyers have been owner occupiers – a stark contrast to the buy-to-let dominated profile of many recently developed inner city schemes. Charlestown and Lower Kersal The first phase of the Charlestown and Lower Kersal New Deal for Communities, which will see a total of 2,500 homes, community facilities and infrastructure improvements transform the area in Miller Homes’ Unity Quarter. On site Unity Quarter by Miller Homes offers modern family housing.
already, the development will provide 230 new homes, mainly family housing. John Gilman, associate director at Miller Homes, said the scheme is for both locals and newcomers. “The12% affordable housing element will cater for those affected by the demolition of old housing (clearing the way for phases two and three), but the overall aim of the five-phase NDC is to change perceptions, attract investment and bring new families into Salford.
InPartnership’s Higher Broughton scheme is designed around ‘home zones’.
OrDsall Overall Salford seems to be bucking the trend of the downturn in the housing market. In Ordsall near Salford Quays and MediaCityUK, local developer LPC Living is helping first-time buyers and young families own their own home. Its first phase of 73 homes at Hulton Square sold out off-plan in three months at the end of 2007. In 2008 it is continuing to clock up sales, phase two of Hulton Square was released in spring and 25 of the 43 homes have been sold off-plan. Jonathan Drake, sales and marketing director for LPC Living says: “Our sales success demonstrates that people still want to be able to buy and live in their own home. Areas such as Ordsall provide such value compared to places such as Manchester city centre as well as offering a much bettter lifestyle for young couples and families. This is why we are currently bucking the trend and why Ordsall demonstrates quite clearly the demand for affordable high quality homes is always going to ensure strong sales success.” This sales success is having a direct impact on the immediate area as the capital reciepts are being reinvested into the estate through the Heart of Ordsall Development Framework Agreement. It has already resulted in the opening of a £6.5m state-of-the-art primary school and children’s centre and long-term will mean a new MaST LIFT health and social care centre, a new shopping centre as well as new cycle routes, children’s play areas and more family housing. n
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Central Salford Community regeneration
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good to talk
Getting everyone in the community involved is integral to sustainable community regeneration programmes such as Spotlight.
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
When consultations were held typically the same elder members of the community turned up. We knew we needed to reach younger adults
R Community engagement in regeneration is nothing new, but it’s now accepted that for change to last and make a real difference, the people affected need more direct input. Adrienne Margolis investigates how Central Salford is addressing the problem…
egeneration is all about people. Record levels of private investment in Central Salford are bringing a lot of opportunities. The Urban Regeneration Company pledged from the outset that as much effort and investment would go into helping local people take advantage of new opportunities, as into attracting the investment itself. Top of the priority list is to ensure that local people enjoy the fruits of all the new development and see real benefits within their own communities. Communities like those in Central Salford have grown understandably cynical over the years. Much has been promised but real change for the better seldom delivered. Many younger people in particular either left the area or turned their backs on society. As Gail Skelly, project manager for Ordsall Community Arts recalls, “When consultations were held, typically the same dozen elder members of the community would turn up. We knew we needed to reach younger adults and get them involved, because major decisions on schools or healthcare were being made without their participation.” Another major barrier is in the way public services are delivered. The existing system does not deal with persistent problems because it fails to focus everyone’s attention on the things which the community knows would make a real difference. Public agencies continue to work without reference to one another or, more importantly, to the people they serve; local community and voluntary organisations are seldom welcomed by the authorities or asked to use their expertise to help deliver mainstream services.
assembles all the public and voluntary agencies active in a neighbourhood and, together with the local people, will analyse and blitz some of the key social issues for an intensive six week period. In the process everyone alters their behaviour for the future, so that the benefits are continued indefinitely. The public agencies are persuaded to change the way they deliver their services to work more effectively with one another, bending effort and resource onto a shared objective. Local people are encouraged and enabled to get involved with making lasting changes which they believe will benefit them and their community. And local third sector, or voluntary, organisations such as Seedley and Langworthy Trust (SALT) and the Broughton Trust, are brought in to use their expertise to research issues and, where appropriate, help formulate solutions. Joan Williams is co-ordinator of the Broughton Trust, which conducted one of the Spotlight pilots looking at the problem of worklessness in the Broughton New Deal area of Salford. “The community was asked what worklessness meant in practice, and whether or not they received the help they needed. Because Spotlight starts with such an intense period of activity it is an opportunity to challenge and say things in different ways. So people felt able to express their real views, and to
Spotlight – a new way of working Central Salford has developed a radical new approach to helping communities and the early signs are promising. The Spotlight programme focuses everyone’s attention on the things which local people say really matter. Spotlight
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Are you helping to transform Salford? Make sure everyone knows. Urban regeneration magazine issue#02 2008 Central Salford
Benoy
Design Architecture Masterplanning Interiors Graphics
Urban regeneration magazine
ford
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issue#02 2008
Benoy is delighted to be part of the team delivering a more beautiful, vibrant and prosperous Salford. Benoy is an award-winning firm of Architects, Masterplanners, Interior and Graphic Designers, with a team of nearly 450 people designing exciting schemes around the world. Founded in Nottingham in 1947, Benoy has since built an enviable reputation as one of the world’s leading designers of mixed-use destinations by combining creativity with commercial awareness. The Team consistently delivers inventive solutions to complex briefs that remain both visionary and commercially viable.
A bright future
Whether working on some of the world’s largest mixed-use masterplans in the Middle East, re-defining high-end residential in Singapore or as the creators of the UK’s first media city, Benoy’s philosophy is simple – creativity and viability are not mutually exclusive. They are vital and complementary elements of the Benoy Difference.
Benoy_Central_Salford_AD_AW.indd 1
www.benoy.com
Regeneration vision becomes reality 13
MediaCityUK shapes Salford’s revival 27
Bucking the trend: the housing market 41
19/3/08 12:26:28
Use Central Salford magazine to promote your company and its work to more than 35,000 regeneration professionals. Contact lee Harrison on 020 7978 6840
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Central Salford issue#02 2008
Spotlight has played a vital role in reducing crime in the area
have this recorded and acted upon. It highlighted the fact that someone unemployed in Broughton might be happy to take a job washing pots in Manchester, but unable to do so because there was no transport to get home. Just one example of what can stop people working. “Each Spotlight project is different. It is important to realise that one size does not fit all.” But one of the biggest benefits is getting all the agencies around the table focused on one topic. Williams continues: “Those multi-agency links are important. I found the process invaluable. It now influences how we design our work so we can really make a difference.” Spotlight has now done enough work to uncover why the system so often does not work and to understand what needs to be done. The initiative is still at the trial stage, but the speed of the Spotlight process means that positive results are already beginning to emerge. One of the most striking effects has been a 19% overall reduction in crime in Ordsall in 2007. The police established neighbourhood policing teams and devised new tactics; Spotlight focused everyone else on the link between crime and the environment. This has resulted in the Cleaner Greener Safer agenda, a multi-agency quick- time response to challenging areas at Ordsall. Andrea Jones, Inspector in Salford Police’s F division, says: “Spotlight has played a vital role in reducing crime in the area. The police and local authority are now both committed to making sure that momentum continues to ensure the long-term benefits, and will gradually increase resources in the area to maximise the reductions in crime and disorder. ” The Spotlight programme is now well established. In-built is the flexibility to ensure that whatever it tackles, it is what the community wants and that the benefits will be continued well into the future. n
Central Salford’s community regeneration is helping to address grass roots issues in the city.
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12 February 2009, 9.00 – 6.00 Palace Hotel, Manchester What delegates said about Socinvest ’08:
SocInvest returns in 2009. Decision-makers from local authorities, public sector bodies and the private sector will gather in Manchester to discuss regeneration funding options. From special purpose financial vehicles to publicprivate partnerships, a wide range of innovative financial models will come under the microscope. The day will combine case studies, practical workshops, private meetings with investors and networking with councils, banks and funding experts. Registration is now open. To register please visit www.socinvest.co.uk/register.html or contact event co-ordinator Kirsten Taylor on Kirsten@3foxinternat ional.com or 0207 978 6840 for further information. For sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities please contact project director Shelley Cook on Shelley@3foxinternational.com
“SocInvest was a very useful tool for us to seek out potential opportunities and acknowledge lessons from previous local asset based vehicles, in order to progress our own LABV. The speakers were very knowledgeable and have helped us understand the advantages and possible barriers to public and private partnerships.” Richard Harrison Housing market renewal officer Middlesbrough City Council
“A useful overview of an area of increasing importance.” John Rundle CDC Implementation Team, Gateshead Council
“This was a great opportunity to hear from an excellent mix of practitioners and experts with knowledge of current regeneration funding initiatives, the governance, funding and delivery vehicles.” Barry Lucas Corporate finance director, Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Contact
For more on Salfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regeneration, contact Carla Todd on 0161 6014882
CENTRAL SALFORD
For more information about Salfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regeneration, please contact a member of the Central Salford team at www.centralsalford.com
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Benoy
Benoy is delighted to be part of the team delivering a more beautiful, vibrant and prosperous Salford. Benoy is an award-winning firm of Architects, Masterplanners, Interior and Graphic Designers, with a team of nearly 450 people designing exciting schemes around the world. Founded in Nottingham in 1947, Benoy has since built an enviable reputation as one of the world’s leading designers of mixed-use destinations by combining creativity with commercial awareness. The Team consistently delivers inventive solutions to complex briefs that remain both visionary and commercially viable. Whether working on some of the world’s largest mixed-use masterplans in the Middle East, re-defining high-end residential in Singapore or as the creators of the UK’s first media city, Benoy’s philosophy is simple – creativity and viability are not mutually exclusive. They are vital and complementary elements of the Benoy Difference.
www.benoy.com