Developers looking at building thousands of homes on the vacant Middlewood Locks in Salford near Manchester city centre are to hold drop-in sessions for the public to explore their plans.
Sandwiched between Chapel Street and Oldfield Road, the 21 acres of derelict brownfield land around the Manchester Bolton and Bury canal was left abandoned in 1961 and never redeveloped.
In March, Salford City Council granted permission for Fairbriar International to go ahead with plans to build up to 2000 homes at Middlewood Locks.
Fairbriar are a joint venture between Leeds-based real estate developers Scarborough Group International, Top Spring International Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-listed real estate developer in the People’s Republic of China, and Metro Holdings Limited, a Singapore-listed property development and investment group.
Building work was originally slated to start in late 2015.
Tower blocks up to 32 storeys high are part of the plans, but the first phase of work should deliver around 550 homes, along with a convenience store, commercial space and landscaped areas around the canal basins.
Further proposals to come later include plans for a gym, delis, restaurants, retail outlets and large office buildings.
Various failed schemes have been granted permission at Middlewood Locks over the past 20 years, including a £300m ‘urban village’ by bust developers Valley and Vale and the £60m indoor ski centre SnoWorld.
But Fairbriar’s development team are putting their plans on show in Salford later this month.
Public drop-in sessions will be held on Thursday 24 September at St Philip’s Church of England Primary School on Barrow Street from 3pm until 5pm, and at The Ainscow Hotel on Trinity Way from 6pm until 7.30pm.
Lee Savage, Development Director at Scarborough, said: “This site has seen a large number of different plans over the past few years. Following our in-depth consultation in 2012 we’re keen to come back to the community of Salford and share our exciting plans as a result of that dialogue.
“We hope that any development on the site will have maximum benefits for the community and we look forward to re-engaging with local stakeholders. After such a great response last time, it’s clear this site can offer a lot to the city and surrounding community.”
The developers estimate the site has a development value in excess of £575 million.
