Manchester council loses major High Court battle, paving the way for 56-storey skyscraper twins

Manchester council twice refused to allow developers Great Jackson Street Estates Ltd (GJSE) to knock down two industrial ‘sheds’ next to Mancunian Way, after the firm secured planning permission to build more than 1,000 flats on the parcel of land the authority owned the freehold on.

Despite approving GJSE’s bid to redevelop the ‘Park Place’ site in November 2024, council officers refused to allow the demolition in September 2024 and January 2025, prompting GJSE to take legal action, High Court documents said.

GJSE, a subsidiary of major city centre landowners the Weis Group which took Andy Burnham’s office to court last year, has now won its appeal against the town hall’s decision, with His Honour Judge David Hodge KC also ruling GJSE ‘is entitled to carry out the demolition works notwithstanding the first refusal and the second refusal’ following a trial in late January.

The company now wants a more productive relationship with the council, a Weis Group spokesperson said: “The stance taken was inconsistent with the council’s stated objective of seeing the site brought forward for the delivery of high-quality housing, but disappointingly was consistent with the treatment encountered with Manchester City Council in seeking, for over eight years, to bring the Park Place development to fruition and highlights the ‘two tier’ reality of ‘Manchesterism’.

“While we are disappointed that senior officers at Manchester council took the stance they did… we are pleased we can now move forward implementing the planning consent and look forward to more constructive relations with the council in future.

“This is an important step in bringing much needed regeneration to the local area that will provide a significant contribution to the city of Manchester.”

Legal documents also show Manchester council was ordered to pay £80,000 of GJSE’s costs. In a short statement, a Manchester City Council spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of the ruling and we accept the decision of the High Court.”

The decision now paves the way for Park Place to become reality, with the 56-storey skyscraper twins set to contain 1,037 apartments, comprising two studios, 342 one-bedroom flats, 620 two-beds, 62 three-bedroom homes, and 11 townhouses — plus commercial space at street level.

They will be the latest addition to Manchester’s ‘skyscraper district’ around Great Jackson Street, which first sprang up in 2018 when Renaker completed construction of four Deansgate Square towers. Since then, Renaker has built more blocks, namely Elizabeth Tower, Three60, and The Blade.

The firm is currently constructing four more, called Contour, and has planning permission for ‘The Lighthouse’, which would be the area’s biggest building, 213m tall.