Many of us who live in a flat (even if you’re blessed with a balcony) dream of a garden, and unfortunately it’s pretty rare to find a home with one in Manchester city centre. However, set to offer “the ultimate front garden” in the city are a number of new homes in Manchester, which received planning approval this week, and just so happen to be located within Mayfield Park, Manchester’s newest city centre park.
What will the new homes at Mayfield Park include?
The approval marks the next stage of the continued transformation of the Mayfield district near Piccadilly Station, led by a partnership between Manchester City Council, TfGM, London Continental Railways (LCR), and Landsec. Designed by Studio Egret West and shedkm, the plans include 879 new apartments – one, two, and three-bedroom homes – integrated into Mayfield Park that will become 40% larger with hundreds of trees, new gardens, a park square, and enhanced spaces to play and relax within.
The intention is that 20% of the first phase of new homes in the Mayfield Park scheme will be classed as affordable housing. Landsec and Manchester City Council are working through the detail of this commitment to secure grant funding and ensure that the affordable homes provided by the scheme are prioritised for key workers who provide essential services in Manchester.
The residences will be set across four distinctive buildings, each featuring low-rise elements and taller blocks to maximise natural light, provide shelter, and seamlessly connect the park into generous communal lobbies. As part of the park extension, the buildings will have restaurants, cafés, health and wellness facilities, and community areas. A new tree-lined road through the development will improve walking and cycling connectivity from east Manchester into the city centre.
“The ultimate front garden”
Henrietta Nowne, Development Director at Landsec, representing The Mayfield Partnership, said: “For the first time, Mancunians will have the ultimate back garden within the award-winning Mayfield Park. An opportunity like this hasn’t existed before in Manchester. Since starting on site earlier this month, there’s real momentum building as we continue to grow a green, healthy and connected district in the heart of Manchester.”
The partnership’s vision for Mayfield over the next 10 years is to become a highly sustainable, distinctive new urban quarter, delivering at 1,700 homes, office space, significant retail and leisure facilities centred around Mayfield Park.