Holt Town
Ashton Canal Metro Stop / Public Square Holt Town Waterfront will be a pioneering new quarter of Manchester.
Holt Town Waterfront is a 38 hectare (95 acre) site to the east of Manchester City Centre and to the west of Sport City in East Manchester and contains both the Ashton Canal and the River Medlock. Currently an under-used area with an industrial character, key elements of which are vacant and derelict, Holt Town will become a pioneering new quarter of Manchester.
Over a 15 year period it will create a sustainable, mixed use community of a kind previously experienced only in other parts of Europe, set around an evocatively landscaped river valley. With the new Metro Link tram stop linking Holt Town to the city centre, it will be a new family-friendly neighbourhood, fitting of the original modern city and an ambitious European city-region. In short, Holt Town will re-define urban family living in the UK for the 21st century.
The masterplan proposes a mixed use, residential-led development phased over 15 years. The masterplan comprises a series of development parcels ranging in size from 0.2 to 2.2 hectares structured by a hierarchy of streets and green spaces. These green spaces incorporate the core elements of the site including the canal and river, and connect with existing and planned green links through surrounding areas. The green spaces provide variety, from strategic public open space, to semi-public courtyards and gardens for residents, to private gardens, balconies and terraces for homes. The green space hierarchy provides for neighbourhood recreation facilities, aswell as local play and seating areas.
The proposed land use is predominately housing with active ground floor Class B1 business and Class A1/A2 retail and Class A3/A4 leisure uses at key nodes and along key routes. These non-residential uses add to the vitality and amenity of the new neighbourhood, and are aimed at local businesses wishing to stay in the area and new ones for whom the City Centre is neither necessary nor affordable. A new primary school is also proposed, subject to further investigation, if demand and East Manchester’s strategy dictate. This is a critical component of the family-friendly offer of the neighbourhood, alongside green spaces.
The Medlock Valley itself is accentuated by proposals for an evocatively landscaped promenade (‘la terrasse anglaise’) that runs from the western part of the site by the Holt Town tram stop through to the east at New Viaduct Street, where its sweeping pedestrian promenade creates a strong public space overlooked by mixed use, residential towers.
The first development parcels will be released to the market towards the end of 2007. For further information on one of the most innovative regeneration schemes in the UK, contact Cibitas Investments Ltd.
If you would like more information about our Holt Town Project, please click here to download our PDF's.'