News

Turley opens public consultation on plans for One Medlock Street, Manchester

Acting on behalf of Whitbread and Dominvs Group, we have opened public consultation on plans for the redevelopment of the Deansgate Premier Inn site at One Medlock Street, Manchester.

We’re providing expert Strategic Communications and Planning services on the proposals which include two new buildings, providing commercial office space and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) over 13 and 37 storeys respectively. At street level, the scheme will create activity and enhance the pedestrian experience through a series of high-quality streets and a new public realm.

Whitbread and Dominvs Group, a family-owned property development company, are bringing forward plans for a mixed-use, office and purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme at One Medlock Street, Manchester.

A pre-application public consultation launches today with the latest plans available to view online at www.onemedlockstreet.co.uk, with feedback invited until Wednesday 5 October.

Plans for the site have been designed by a local design team including Jon Matthew Architects and Planit-IE. The site is located within Manchester City Council’s First Street Central Area of the First Street Development Framework which supports a ‘commercially-led’ proposal for the site. The proposals support Manchester’s ambition to be a walkable city and First Street a destination and ‘neighbourhood of choice’ with workspace, homes and leisure all within close proximity.

The office building is located within the eastern section of the site fronting Medlock Street for prominence and providing a city facing workplace cluster with neighbouring buildings. The commercial building will be 13-storeys in height and provide 36,000 sq m of flexible, Grade A office space designed for the current and future occupier market, with access to external amenity space on each floor.

The PBSA building will sit on the western section of the site adjacent to the recently completed Downing River Street development. The PBSA building is designed to provide a generous step back from existing residents at City South and will provide high-specification professionally-managed student rooms across 30,000 sq m, with access to amenity space at ground, first, eleventh and thirty-seventh floors to promote the health and wellbeing of the residents.

The buildings have been designed with a new, attractive public realm to enhance the current streetscape. The plans will also improve permeability in the area by creating green streets connecting the site to the wider First Street regeneration.

Jay Ahluwalia, Principal Director at Dominvs Group, said:

“We are delighted to be bringing forward these transformational plans to repurpose this site in the city centre.

The site offers an opportunity to contribute to a vibrant new neighbourhood by providing a mix of commercial office space and student accommodation, making it an attractive and sustainable setting for work, study and living and we look forward to engaging with the surrounding community through our public consultation.”

Richard Pearson, Senior Development Manager at Whitbread, said:

“Manchester is one of the most popular locations for Premier Inn customers in the UK and we want to ensure our hotels in the city are in the best possible locations and provide a consistently high standard of accommodation for our guests.

“We have recently invested in new hotel accommodation in the city centre, including the new 157-bedroom Premier Inn on Princess Street as part of the Circle Square development, just a short walk away from the site at Medlock Street. Our decision to redevelop the site of the Deansgate Locks Premier Inn is part of our wider strategy to ensure our city centre hotel offer is of the highest quality and in the best locations for our customers.

“We now have the opportunity to realise the true potential of the Medlock Street site by creating high-quality workspace and student accommodation at an important gateway to the city centre, whilst generating funds to reinvest in our network of hotels in Manchester elsewhere.”

To enable local residents to find out more a live webinar will be held at 6pm on Wednesday 28 September, registration for the event is available via the project website.

21 September 2022