Middlewood Locks: 1,000 new apartments and shared HMO accommodation set to be approved in Salford

Plans for more than 1,000 apartments, 12 supported living flats and two house shares are set to be approved at a Salford Council planning meeting.

The next phase of the £1bn Middlewood Locks development would see 909 flats built on two plots of land – E and N – next to the Ordsall Chord railway line.

A 17-storey residential building is also planned for a site south of Regent Road.

A bid to build 12 specialist supported living apartments for people with learning disabilities together with five affordable terraced houses on green space in Walkden which has received 93 objections could also be approved.

And two applications to covert properties in Claremont ward into houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) will also be considered by the planning panel.

Planners have recommended that the panel approves all six applications.

What’s the background?

The latest plans for Middlewood Locks are set out in two applications – one for 659 apartments in two blocks and another for 250 apartments in one building.

The wider development was granted planning permission in principle in 2016 and much of it is already built – but specific details still need to be signed off.

Most of the apartments in the latest applications by Fairbriar Developments would have one or two bedrooms, but some of them would be three-bed units.

The two blocks on Plot E – up to 28 and 32 storeys respectively – would be linked by a ‘podium’ with a car park accommodating 48 cars and 140 bikes.

Communal roof terraces would be created on the lower parts of each block.

There would also be 1,712 sqm of commercial space within these buildings.

Plot N would feature 250 flats in an L-shaped block ranging from 11 to 15 storeys in height together with 413 sqm of ground floor commercial space.

The car park below this block would accommodate 29 cars and 124 bikes.

A 17-storey apartment block with 160 flats, a gym and communal space is also planned for a plot of land on the banks of the River Irwell in Derwent Street.

Much like the Middlewood Locks scheme, most of the new apartments would have one or two bedrooms, with only eight three-bed units planned in total.

What changes have been made?

The scheme by Forshaw has been changed during the planning process, with three more floors accommodating an additional 30 apartments, the number of parking spaces increased from seven to 14 and an upgrade to a riverside link.

The building was also reorientated to open onto a new area of public space.

The panel will also vote on plans for five affordable terraced houses and 12 supported living flats on land between Crosby Avenue and Crompton Street.

The proposal by housing association Great Places to build on the green space in Walkden received 96 letters of representation of which 93 were objections.

Residents have raised concerns about the loss of recreational land, congestion caused by more cars and disruption during construction of the development.

Two applications to convert properties in Claremont ward – one in Vestris Drive and another in Bolton Road – into five-bedroom HMOs will also be voted on.

In total, the two applications have received 30 objections and five petitions.

The planning panel will meet on Thursday to vote on the proposals.