X1 Developments, already heavily involved in Chapel Street with property including the old Salford Town Hall, is currently hyping up four huge 26 storey towers as `the largest residential development in the North West'.
The four towers, titled `X1 Media City Manchester', will feature 1,036 apartments and are currently being marketed to investors by agent Knight Knox International at prices ranging from £94,950 to £169,950 plus £15,000 for a parking space.
On its website, Knight Knox has a section for Frequently Asked Questions which answers queries like `What are the projected annual returns on this project?' and `Is there a management company in place?'. What it doesn't ask itself is whether there is actually any planning permission in place to build the blocks. And the answer to that is a resounding `No'.
The site for the four towers on Michigan Avenue has a chequered history that ended with the previous company, Manyoo LLP – a KW Linfoot/Yoo Capital joint venture – being reported as going into administration in 2010, after deposits ranging between £8,000 and £20,000 on 264 flats had been placed. The apartments were supposed to have been designed by Jade Jagger. In 2012, however, Manyoo extended its planning permission for the blocks before being struck off and dissolved a few months later.
That planning permission remains the only application for the site but Salford Council confirmed to the Salford Star that it cannot be transferred to a new developer. The Salford Star further understands that X1 tried to implement changes to the original planning as `non material amendments' but this was refused and thus a new planning application will have to be submitted.
Recent media coverage stated that the blocks "have been given planning permission by Salford Council and work on construction will start in February 2015". This is untrue. Indeed, the four blocks appear to be different on every `artist impression'.
Apart from having no planning permission and being unaffordable to most people in Salford, the scheme also raises two other concerns.
Firstly, the original application in 2010 deemed that planning obligation Section 106 fees of £1,214,676 were payable, with the scheme not having to provide any affordable housing. When the extension to that planning came up again in 2012 the planning obligations had risen to £3,651,520, but only the original amount was requested because of the "current economic downturn". Now that the scheme will have to go back to planning and a new Section 106 agreement put in place, will those fees be waived completely (with a `clawback arrangement'), as with other projects on Salford Quays?
Secondly, there's growing concern in the community that outside developers are coming into Salford and re-branding whole areas as being in Manchester. The four towers are being titled `X1 Media City Manchester; while X1 is also, disgracefully, branding its conversion of the old Salford Town Hall as `X1 Town Hall Manchester'. It's other properties in Salford are `X1 The Exchange Manchester' (in Salford Quays), `X1 Salford Quays Phase 2 Manchester' and `X1 Chapel Street Manchester'.
X1 is a Liverpool based `investment company' which prides itself on properties "selected and overseen by individuals who have unrivalled knowledge, experience, and background in the product, market sector and location".
X1's `experts' certainly know nothing about getting planning permission before embarking on sales missions, and absolutely nothing about location.
* The Salford Star contacted X1 about the lack of planning permission for the four towers but the developer didn't return our call.
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