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Manchester council and the Far East Consortium have appointed the masterplannning team to work on one of the first phases of the 15,000-home Victoria North regeneration programme.

The team made up of Mæ, as lead architect, Turner.Works, for meanwhile use, Schulze+Grassov, working on landscape and public realm, and IF_DO, on community engagement, has been appointed to draw up plans for the Collyhurst Village and South Collyhurst portion of the programme.  

The Victoria North regeneration plan is designed to see 15,000 new homes built across seven new and emerging neighbourhoods in north Manchester over the next two decades. 

Works have already begun to build 274 new low carbon homes, including 130 for social rent. 

The JV will work with a masterplanning team to develop a street-by-street plan that builds on the vision set out in a 2019 Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) for Victoria North.

The Victoria North SRF sets out the potential for up to 3,000 new homes for Collyhurst Village and South Collyhurst, and has a key focus on affordability. 

Gavin White, Manchester council’s executive member for housing and development, said:  “The Collyhurst neighbourhood has been a key target for regeneration for many years and we know from speaking to local people how needed and how welcome this investment will be. 

“We remain absolutely committed to the development in Collyhurst Village and South Collyhurst with work already starting on site. We want this initial phase of investment to be the catalyst for future development in the area, which we believe has the potential for around 3,000 new homes – with affordability being a crucial element – in the coming years, along with investment in local green space, new shops and services.”

Victoria Hunter, senior development manager at Far East Consortium, said: “The appointment of a masterplanning team is a significant step forward in the future of Collyhurst, with the team selected based on an approach that puts the existing community at the centre of the design process – recognising that communities evolve from existing places and relationships.

“Over the coming months, we will be planning how the community engagement will happen. Critically, we want to listen and to explore ideas with existing residents, guided by key principles including retention of existing residents through a mixture of new homes and tenancies, as well as the growth and re-provision of affordable homes.” 

The Far East Consortium is an international developer, specialising in residential and mixed-use developments, with a head office in Hong Kong.