Residents have started to move into a fast-growing new neighbourhood in Manchester.
Far East Consortium and Manchester city council are celebrating what they call “a landmark moment” in the £4 billion Victoria North regeneration scheme.
Victoria North is a joint venture that will reshape 155 hectares of former industrial land and increase Manchester’s population by 40,000 over the next decade. As the first development in the Red Bank neighbourhood, which plans to deliver over 5,000 homes and offer wild urbanism in its green spaces, it marks the start of a major new residential district taking shape.
Victoria Riverside – the initial part of the project – comprises 634 new homes across three towers. It also includes shared facilities including a gym, a residents’ lounge and landscaped podium gardens.
The first phase completing will comprise 341 homes. Of these, 128 homes will be available for Shared Ownership, delivered in partnership with housing association L&Q and representing one of the largest single contributions to affordable housing in the city centre in recent years. A further 293 open market homes are planned in a second phase to complete the Victoria Riverside scheme later this year.
A Far East Consortium spokesperson say: “Welcoming our first residents to Victoria Riverside is an incredibly proud moment for the partnership and a major milestone for Victoria North. This development reflects our shared commitment to delivering high-quality, sustainable homes and communities at pace and scale, underpinned by a true spirit of collaboration with MCC, Homes England and L&Q.
“We’re excited to see life begin to take root here in Red Bank – a place designed to foster community, creativity and connectivity. Victoria Riverside marks a significant step forward in the delivery of Victoria North, and its completion signals the momentum we’re now seeing across the whole programme.”
And a Manchester city council representative adds: “This is a great moment for the Victoria North programme – and it marks a moment when it feels like we are hitting our stride against the long-term vision for the regeneration of this part of our city.
“Alongside the homes at Victoria Riverside – which include affordable shared ownership opportunities – we will also soon see the Council homes for social rent completed in Collyhurst. This is crucial, because while being hugely ambitious, one of the largest regeneration programmes in the UK, Victoria North is about making sustainable communities. These are quality neighbourhoods that Manchester people can expect to be part of.”
Additional phases of the Victoria North masterplan that are already underway include 274 new homes in Collyhurst – including 130 Council homes for social rent – and Red Bank Riverside, which will deliver 1,551 new homes, alongside commercial and amenity space as well as significant amounts of new public realm
Another major development for the programme is a new Metrolink stop at Sandhills, announced as part of a major government investment package into public transport for Greater Manchester. The new stop will improve connectivity across the city and marks another key aspiration of the Victoria North programme being realised.
