Residents fight to save Chorlton from 10-storey high-rise buildings

Chorlton residents have come together to campaign against proposals for 10-storey high-rise developments in Chorlton’s centre.

Save Chorlton Centre is a campaign group dedicated to opposing the current development proposal PJ Livesey has for the Chorlton Precinct centre.

The plans are to demolish the Chorlton shopping centre and replace it with six blocks of flats, the tallest block being 10-storeys high.

Residents believe this will have many implications for Chorlton’s character, community, and privacy.

The campaign currently has 1,201 signed petitions, and is growing in number.

Residents from ‘Save Chorlton Centre’ campaign

Save Chorlton Centre’s have several key demands say including:
1. A shopping centre with a variety of retail and pedestrianised public space which connects Wilbraham Road to Nicolas Road and Barlow Moor Road. 
2. Buildings no more than 3- 5 storeys high. 
3. Buildings architecturally in keeping with the variety of low rise buildings and which enhance the character of Chorlton. 
4. Adequate parking to prevent increased pressure on parking in the surrounding street area. 
5. An enhancement of the natural environment.”

Plans and community engagement

Initial plans were created in early 2023 by the developers alongside Southway Housing Trust and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

Pllanning documents reveal that 262 apartments are set to be created, with 53 of those affordable homes, of which 49 will be for social rent. There are 182 parking spaces, 164 for residents. Plans also feature ground-floor shops, green spaces, and a new ‘makers’ yard’. 

The developers believe they have engaged with the community and the council to curate their final plans which were submitted earlier this year.

PJ Livesey declined to comment while the planning application is still under consideration.

Chorlton Councillor John Hacking said: “I think the scheme is substantially better than the one we were first presented with, largely because of the social housing element. 

“I think it is probably a storey too high. But my view is I’d rather we built some homes for people who desperately need them and get on with it than sit on that site for another three, or five years, or however long the developer takes to come back, with another scheme which has no guarantee at all that it will be substantially different to the one that they brought.”

‘We must create genuinely affordable, long-term homes’

Chorlton ward councillors

In a joint statement Chorlton ward councillors state: “Chorlton and Chorlton Park councillors were united on this insistence that the proposal delivered social homes, because we know that this is what our city and our local population needs.

“It is important to us that we must create genuinely affordable, long-term homes for people all across the city, particularly in parts of the city where we know that people with young families really struggle to find homes.”

Residents outside Manchester town hall for the planning committee meeting on Thursday 20 November

‘It’s going to be like Old Trafford. It’s going to be massive’

Scott McKenna

Scott McKenna, who lives less than 100m from the sight development, is one of those in favour, saying: “I am 100% pro development, we need to get it developed, but my biggest issue with the current plans is the height of it. 10-storeys is just unbelievably high. And I think for me, and my neighbours as well, there are concerns about privacy and the lighting impact. The highest point in the development is right against us. I think we’ll all be living under a shadow.

“To my knowledge, I don’t think there’s any development outside of the city centre that is as extreme as the 10 storey development. 

“It’s going to be like Old Trafford, it’s going to be massive.

“It is for everybody this, so I think we should be fully involved in building something that will truly benefit everybody in the community.”

Significant concerns over scale

Many residents are not against a new housing development but want to see the precinct replaced with amenities, useful shops, parking, and green public spaces. The primary objections are to the scale and height of the proposed development. 

Resident Mike Broomhead said: “The height is the top of the list. It’s just the sheer height and all of the implications of that in terms of sunlight and overseeing and so forth. Chop it in half, and maybe it will look fine. 

“The idea of having more homes is obviously positive, because we do need more homes and Manchester is growing.

“It’s 500 people all in one location, which is significant. I hope that all those 500 people really do get the tram or bus into town because there’s obviously the car parking concern. I know there is a car parking arrangement, but I think the ratio is quite low, so that’s a concern.”

The redevelopment will be further discussed at the planning meeting on Thursday (18 December) after a site visit was approved to take place following the meeting last month. Demolition of the existing precinct is due to be completed by March 2026.