Plans for the next massive phase of MediaCityUK are to be put before Salford City Council's Planning Panel next week. They include four apartment blocks containing 1,395 flats, two huge office blocks, a market and public spaces, much of which will be `semi-public' and private apart from a few trees and grass patches dotted around.
There's no affordable housing, no Section 106 payments to the city and no regard to half hearted suggestions from Salford Council and Urban Vision to make the place less sterile....
In response to the Council's idea that `high quality public spaces including public art are important for attracting people to places (e.g. Millennium Park, Chicago and Potsdamer Platz, Berlin)', Peel sniffed that "A lighting scheme will be developed"; and, instead of public art, fingered that an "events/food hall" will be "at the heart of the development". A `high level observation point, such as a sky bar' was "not viable" either...
...And when asked to consider sticking some family housing in the plans, Peel responded that "Low-rise family housing with traditional gardens were not considered suitable at MediaCityUK".
Make no mistake about it, not only is Peel Holdings calling the shots at MediaCityUK, the scheme is nothing to do with Salford's wider community and everything to do with making profits.
Peel Holdings, or the Peel Land and Property Group, has a new partner, Legal and General Capital (L&G), which took a 50% stake in its Peel Media Limited (PML) in March 2015. In its planning statement for Phase 2, Peel unashamedly states, "L&G's remit is to increase the returns on shareholders assets...
"It has been investing in urban regeneration projects as a way to increase the returns on long term investment margins through direct investment" Peel adds "and it considers that urban regeneration projects can provide stable revenues and long term returns, which meet the needs of its shareholders."
L&G is also the financial driving force behind the English Cities fund, or ECf, development of unaffordable housing and listed building vandalisation on Chapel Street (see here and see here)*.
Peel's Planning Statement shows how it's ditched any notions of community or iconic spaces in favour of profit farms... "A key requirement of the brief set by PML was that the Phase 2 should signify a departure from the 'corporate' expression of the predominantly commercial and office elements already built-out in Phase 1" the company states before explaining how it's gone back on this...
A `visually expressive and inspiring spatial event' (iconic building) was ditched by `commercial imperatives' and replaced by `a single large office building'; open space was `developed into a more formally planted courtyard/small square'; a `lush immersive garden' became a `market venue events building'; a semi-public pocket park became a fully enclosed, `private landscaped garden for residents only'...
Peel may argue that Media City is built on its land and it can do what it wants, however, as the Salford Star revealed previously, it was more or less built on public money (see here).
Over the next ten years, Phase 2 of Media City will see the aptly named London Square, with blocks up to 25 storeys of 460 apartments, plus twenty `duplex townhouses and maisonettes; a Georgian Square, with blocks up to 25 storeys of 286 apartments plus `work/live spaces'; The Arcade office and retail building, up to 18 storeys high; Studio Square, five storeys of offices, and a Market Building for, er, `markets and events'.
Meanwhile the three sectioned Northern Edge will see 182 apartments plus offices in a building up to 31 storeys high; an eleven storey block of offices and six work/live units; and two stunningly ugly 15 and 19 storey high blocks of 450 apartments and retail space – what Peel calls a 'gateway creating a new arrival point to MediaCityUK' .
The Planning Statement argues that these developments will "address earlier criticism from some elements of the press", perhaps referring to winning Building Design magazine's Carbuncle Cup, when the jury voted Media City `the worst building in the UK' and a `crime against the built environment' (see here).
To make way for Phase 2, the Pie Factory and the failing Greenhouse building are to be demolished.
The whole development lies within a Flood Zone 2 - however, Council planning officers note that "There is no reference to the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) requirement for a 50% reduction in surface water runoff from a brown field development in a critical drainage area" and that "A drainage strategy is presented in general terms but detailed design has not yet been produced"...
Even so, Salford Council is set to approve the plans at next week's meeting...**
* For full details of L&G's involvement in Chapel Street and the ECf see Salford Star print issue 10 (for electronic version click here)
* Next week's Planning Panel is set to be a beanfeast of Peel Holdings applications - further details click here
** MediaCityUK plans passed - see end of article - click here
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