Mayfield multi-storey plan gets a makeover

Manchester urban regeneration scheme gets greener rethink

A multi-storey car park planned as part of a Manchester regeneration project has been redesigned in an effort to make the development more sustainable. It is three years since the Mayfield plans were first approved, prompting a refresh of the original proposals.

The Mayfield Partnership has now submitted an updated planning application for the £400m first phase of the wider £1.5bn scheme. The partnership comprises LandsecU+I, Manchester City Council, LCR and Transport for Greater Manchester.

The updated plan comprises two office buildings, the car park and three acres of public spaces in addition to the £23m Mayfield Park, which opened last year.

The planning application submitted to Manchester City Council seeks permission for a raft of changes to the car park, which has been designed by Studio Egret West.

The number of parking spaces has been reduced from 581 to 487. A planning statement prepared by Deloitte says the bay reduction reflects the inclusion of new active uses within the ground and basement levels of the car park as well as removal of one half-deck of spaces.

Changes include the creation of 450 cycle parking spaces at basement level and an additional 14,000 square feet of commercial space on ground floor level.

There will be more electric vehicle charging points when the car park opens. The site will also have the capacity to allow

50% of all spaces to have EV charging capability. A rooftop solar array is another new addition to the plans.

The proposed exterior of the building has also been given a makeover. Deloitte states the updated designs better reflect the history of the Mayfield area. The upper levels of the car park now reference patterns from the Calico Dye Works that formerly occupied the site.

The redesign has allowed the developer to rethink the opportunity for the building to be repurposed in future. The upper levels of the car park will be demountable and sit above a two-storey concrete plinth forming the basement and ground floors. This means the car park element can be removed and the foundations reused.

The Poulton and The Republic, the first two office buildings planned for Mayfield, have been reworked with a target of 600kg of CO2/square metre. The developers are aiming for a 5.5-star NABERS energy efficiency rating across both buildings. Bennetts Associates designed The Poulton, a 76,000 square foot building, and Morris+Company is behind The Republic, a 244,000 square foot development.

Green light for urban farm proposal

A plan to convert the upper floors of a Birmingham multi-storey car park into an urban farm have been approved.

Sustainable food producer Slow Food Birmingham will redevelop levels five and six of the Vyse Street car park in the Jewellery Quarter. Vegetable plots, greenhouses and gardens will take up the space, with a focus on community use as well as food production.

Slow Food plans to collect rainfall to water plants and cover flat spaces on the top floor with wind turbines.

The scheme has met with opposition. Birmingham City Council received an online petition objecting to the loss of 39 parking spaces received more than 500 signatures. There were also six letters of objection about the loss of parking provision and complaints that jewellers would be squeezed out of the area.

Five letters of support were also sent to the authority, praising a scheme seen as offering much-needed access to green space in an urban area.