CERT proposes £28m New Cross resi
A site off Cross Keys Street would be redeveloped into 99 homes under the developer’s plans for a second residential scheme within the Manchester neighbourhood.
CERT Property, working in partnership with Myprotein founder Oliver Cookson, has submitted a planning application for the £28m development, which comprises apartments and townhouses within a nine-storey building in New Cross.
The site has been used as a surface car park since 2014. Now, like several other plots within New Cross, it is in line to be redeveloped into homes as outlined in the neighbourhood development framework for the area.
CERT’s scheme features plans for 10 townhouses and 89 one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Howard Lord, CERT’s managing director, said: “This neighbourhood is a great example of how co-ordinated urban regeneration can transform areas, with most of New Cross being car parks or disused properties only a few years ago.
“We believe in the location and the continued strength of the residential market in Manchester and are looking forward to bringing this scheme forward”.
The project sees Tim Groom Architects and CERT link up once more – the architect is also behind designs for Cert’s Peeler’s Yard scheme – also being backed by Cookson – which is currently under construction on a neighbouring plot.
The Cross Keys Street development will be the fourth Tim Groom-designed scheme in New Cross. As well as the two CERT projects, the studio was also behind Mulbury’s 144-home Poplin and Europa’s 160-apartment development on Bendix Street.
Enabl is advising CERT on planning matters for the Cross Keys Street scheme and Civic Engineers is the structural engineer. Hydrock, Proximity, Layer Studio, Redmore Environmental, LK Group, E3P, and, CBRE are also working on the project.
To learn more about the project, search for reference number 140133/FO/2024 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal.
Oliver Cookson added: “I’m thrilled to be partnering with CERT to bring two exceptional developments to life in my hometown of Manchester. As someone born at Withington Hospital, just five miles away from the site, it is a deeply personal experience to be investing in the local
community that has shaped me. I’m excited to see the positive impact these developments will have on the neighbourhood.”
This looks great, we need more new builds with this aesthetic and size. Not everything needs to be huge glass towers
By Jon P
Give Tim Groom every mid sized plot in the city and let them work their magic!
By Anonymous
Absolutely outstanding proposal
By Anonymous
Once again, no balconies making these, for many people, little more than short term homes for transient renters or students. Not a large number of people will want to stay long term in a home without their own outdoor space.
So it begs the question again, just who in the planning department is putting their own aesthetic preferences above the wellbeing of the future occupants of these units and the overall sustainability of the housing stock?
By Balcony watch
This has got a nice European feel that I’m a big fan of! Would love some balconies on this though, with commercial units on the ground floor to activate the area more
By Anonymous
Pretty good although there needs to be some form of balconies for residents.
By Balcony Bob
Balcony warrior really needs to think through that obsession of theirs. But like all single issue Individuals they won’t have done. So crack on with your nonsense
By Balconies are good
Geez man look at the sort of stuff that Manchester is building outside of its city centre.
After visiting recently, the public realm really lets it down. However once they start pedestrianising and greening its spaces up though it’s gonna be mega. I honestly love visiting it these days.
By Well done Manchester
Yes yes yes. Lovely proposal.
By Anonymous
Tim Groom does it again !
By MrP
I think some comments are getting distracted looking at this proposal only skin deep and obsessing about cladding (cladding specification and quality can change through the delivery phase anyway).
A more important question is where are the features that support quality of life? Ground floor commerical units are units, outdoor space etc.
By Anonymous
It needs balconies. Manchester needs architecture with a more European feel to it I agree with the comment above.
By John
This looks great.
By Chris
@Balcony Watch – the obsession with lack of balconis is tiresome. Not everyone wants or needs a balcony, and yes, aesthetically they look poor and then the ugly urban environment also has an impact on people’s mental health (if we’re going down that route).
These are a very classy, timeless design and I’d happily see more of these all over the city.
By The Squirrel's Nuts
Why wouldn’t you provide balconies on a low rise scheme such as this?
By Balcony Warrior
Love the facade articulation and materials. However, Iagree balconies are much needed! I live in a PRS scheme in the city centre and have looked around many in the hunt for a rental with a balcony (which took a long time to find). I wonder if those saying these don’t matter have experienced living in a hermetically sealed box like many of the apartments currently under construction….or the scarring experience of being locked down in a building without any access to outdoor space. There’s definitely a lack of supply of flats with balconies compared to renter demand, and balconies have the potential to add depth and character to facades. They’re also key in helping reduce energy and carbon, allowing you to fully open a door to ventilate (rather than an air vent panel), and dry washing outside. For those saying balconies have to look ugly – I beg to differ! The place I live now (another Tim Groom building) has well designed recessed balconies that add depth and animation to the facade.
By Potential Tenant
Great scheme but Manchester does need to think more about balconies, rooftop gardens etc. This will be council-led as developers only think about the bottom line. I find it interesting that housing associations are delivering generous balconies but schemes which are supposed to be more premium aren’t.
By Mature City
Not everyone wants balconies. Some people prefer extra floorspace that they can use all year round. In some flats you see balconies used more for drying laundry and storing junk than for sitting and watching the traffic.
By S
Fantastic, bar the blank wall on the side of the building at street level. A couple of retail units would have been a good addition. Coffee shop, independent retailer, etc.
By jrb
Better than most, it just needs that roof detailing across both blocks.
By Heritage Action
Bored with the whole balcony wittering, a childish obsession whether they are needed or not.
By Balcony witterer
I think people are getting confused about why some commenters are requesting balconies.
Some say not everyone wants a balcony, however I can guarantee most would say they did, yet most apartment schemes being built have virtually none.
The branding of people being stubborn or spoiled by asking for what is a basic necessity in a city centre is one of the most tiresome things you read on this website.
And to top it all off, the public realm and access to green space in the city centre is shocking, yet the same people would probably say we need less of that as well.
You can have both a good looking scheme AND balconies. So the tiresome comments are not why we should have more balconies and open space in a city which lacks, but why are people actively promoting low standards of living by developers?
By Anonymous
Do they even need windows? They could cut costs further and get rid of these.
By Anonymous
For some reason balcony bore features large in these comments. Pity, such a nice design too.
By COB
@COB – surely it’s more worthwhile discussing something that actually benefits the occpunats rather than the cladding bores who obsess about something relatively superficial that has little impact on anything.
By Not a cladding bore
If only we could have some Tim Groom tall buildings of this calibre to nestle among the many glass SH towers to create something magical
By Anonymous
Much better than Poplin, which looks like a red velvet cake in my opinion, the weird projecting banding having no precedent in the vernacular as erroneously posited by Tim Groom. Better here, but bland despite the gesture of green at ground floor (what’s the precedent for this? Seeing as we seem to have to follow some sort of new age pastiche) one day someone will do something colorful in Manchester…
By Mr. Bland