Hundreds of homes are set to be built on the site where Manchester City's stadium once stood – but none of them would be affordable or social housing. The development of 172 houses and 100 apartments is planned for the site which was home to the football club's Hyde Road stadium in West Gorton.
City played at the stadium from 1897 until they moved to Maine Road in 1923. The site in Bennett Street, which is now a freight depot, has been earmarked for housing for decades, with the previous plans proposing up to 340 homes.
However, these plans for the Olympic Freight Terminal site which were put forward by Ascena Developments two years ago were withdrawn last month. Now, Warrington-based developer Kellen Homes has submitted a fresh application to Manchester council, seeking permission to build 272 homes.
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The developer has also committed to building a community hub on the site, which would feature some commercial floorspace, as well as a pocket park. But none of the new homes planned on the land - which is less than two miles away from Manchester city centre - would be affordable or social housing.
The housebuilder says this is because the site is 'heavily contaminated' which means the cost of developing the land for housing would be particularly high. According to a viability report submitted as part of the planning application, the developer would make a loss if 20 pc of the homes were to be affordable.
The document, prepared by consultants Northern Land Agency, concludes that the build-to-rent scheme worth £80m would yield a 9 pc profit margin. A spokesperson for Kellen Homes said: "The site is a heavily contaminated brownfield site with high remediation costs.
"Accordingly, it is not viable to provide [affordable housing]. However, Kellen are looking to provide a new community building for use by West Gorton residents and include a pocket park of public open space on site."
According to Manchester council policy, developments should contribute towards a target of 20 pc of new housing across the city being affordable. But exceptions can be made if providing affordable housing makes the project unviable by reducing the developer's profit margin below the standard 20 pc.
The town hall's latest housing strategy, which was formally adopted last month, says 10,000 social and affordable homes must be built by 2032. Many of these would be built by the council's new development arm This City as well as by housing associations using publicly-owned land sold for less.
But senior councillors say developers must be 'pushed' to play their part too. Of the 272 homes planned at the Bennett Street site, 100 would be two-bed flats and the rest would be houses ranging from two to four bedrooms in size.
The community hub, which is expected to be managed by a local group, would feature 862 sq ft of commercial floorspace within the one-storey building. A total of 187 trees would be planted as well as shrubs and a wildflower meadow as part of the plans to create 2,882 sqm of new green space.
The plans also feature 383 car parking spaces and secure cycle storage. Plans to mark the history of the site which was home to Manchester City's former stadium within the scheme will be considered later in the process.
Members of the public can view and comment on the plans online by visiting Manchester council's website using application reference 134504/FO/2022.
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