Key developments planned for Greater Manchester

A new hotel at a ‘landmark building’ in Oldham and the first town centre McDonald’s for 14 years are two significant developments tabled in recent weeks.

The 15-storey Civic Centre tower in Oldham is visible from Stockport and has long been earmarked for redevelopment. The idea of changing it into a 126-room hotel is part of a wider scheme to regenerate Oldham – bringing 2,000 new homes to the town centre alongside new commercial spaces.

Over in Rochdale, a new 24/7 drive-thru plan has finally been submitted to the council. This comes months after the proposal was first touted by the US fast food giant, last Summer.

If approved, this would be the first McDonald’s built in the town centre area since the Yorkshire Street site closed its doors in 2011.
Here is a breakdown of each borough’s submitted planning applications this week

Bury
Fields recently taken out of green belt to become site of 275-home estate
Detailed plans for new 275-home estate on former green belt land on the outskirts of Bury have been published.

Wain Estates intends to develop the fields close to Scobell Street and Church Street in the village of Walshaw. The area, which once housed the village cricket pitch, was one of the green belt areas allocated for housing development when Bury Council adopted the
Places for Everyone (PfE) masterplan, along with eight other boroughs in the region.

It is the first significant planning application for land taken out of the green belt by PfE in the borough.

New wine bar set to be latest Prestwich village hospitality opening
A wine bar and shop with a first floor balcony is set to be the latest new hospitality business to open in Prestwich village. 

Plans have been published this week seeking to convert vacant premises on Bury New Road to a 44-person capacity bar. Applicant Cellar Door Wine Bars Ltd have requested Bury Council grant them a change of use for the building, which is next door to the The Pearl restaurant.

The plans say the new bar would operate over both floors of the premises and would employ the equivalent of three full-time staff.

Manchester
A 28-year saga in Manchester city centre has a new twist
Medlock Mill, commonly known as Hotspur Press, is known for its iconic ‘Percy Brothers’ signage and façade.

A new bid to keep the Press alive was revealed by new developers Manner in 2023, which secured planning permission for a 36-storey student tower containing 595 rooms from Manchester council last year, on the condition the facade and Percy Brothers sign would stay intact.

But now Manner wants to reduce the tower’s height, and make it wider and longer so the number of student bedrooms will rise from 595 to 619. Crucially, it also wants to change the exterior material of the block.

Oldham
Landmark ‘visible from Tameside and Stockport’ could be turned into a huge hotel
A ‘landmark’ building in Oldham could be transformed into a hotel.

The 15-storey Civic Centre tower could soon host more than 120 visitors, if plans submitted to the council are approved.  A change of use application by developers Muse would see the former council office block turned into 126 rooms, with service areas, a restaurant and conference hall in the basement, ground and first floors.

The brutalist-style block currently divides public opinion, with some describing it as an ‘eyesore that should be demolished’ while others call it an ‘important landmark and wayfinder’.

Rochdale
McDonald’s drive thru set to open in Greater Manchester town
A new McDonald’s drive-thru could soon be coming to Rochdale.

It has been over a decade since the last Rochdale town centre McDonald’s site closed its doors on Yorkshire Street in 2011. Now, 14 years later, the US fast-food chain has officially tabled their plan for a new restaurant on Molesworth Street, close to the town centre.

Currently, the nearest McDonald’s locations to the town centre are the restaurants at Sandbrook Park Retail Park and Kingsway Business Park.
If approved, the new 24/7 drive-thru restaurant would be built on the junction of Molesworth Street and Water Street.

Stockport
New apartments to be approved in Stockport
Plans for 106 new apartments in Stockport are set to be approved next week.

The site is based on land at the east side of Hopes Carr in the town centre, on empty scrub land which is due to be cleared if the scheme is given the green light.

The proposed development would be an L-shaped building with a mix of one and two-bed apartments on the lower ground floor level to fourth floor level.

Basement parking would be accessed from a ramped entrance from Hopes Carr with space for 43 cars and 11 accessible bays.

Trafford
Rowing club aiming to transform canal-side base
Ambitious plans by a rowing club to transform their canal-side base have been submitted to Trafford’s planning team.

Trafford Rowing Club is based at the privately-run Walton Park Sports Centre in Sale – also home to an indoor football hub, Trafford School of Gymnastics and Trafford Weight Training Club.

The Raglan Road building which suffered serious flooding in the New Year’s Day storm  stands on the banks of the Bridgewater Canal.

Now, the rowing club has tabled a scheme to add first-floor accommodation, including a dormer facing the canal, new access stairs and an external platform lift.

Bid to turn house into four-person HMO
Plans have been submitted to convert an early 20th century terraced home in Old Trafford into a house of multiple occupation (HMO) for four people.

The property on Albion Street is currently an unoccupied three-bed house. Arc Invest Property Ltd, based in Edinburgh, is the applicant.
A planning statement submitted to Trafford council says the change of use application will contribute towards meeting national, regional and local planning policy requirements.

Historic multi-sports club set to expand
One of the oldest multi-sports clubs in the country has applied for planning permission to build a single-storey rear extension to its clubhouse.

Timperley Sports Club, which has cricket, hockey, tennis and lacrosse members, has submitted the application for its facilities on Stockport Road to Trafford’s planning team. Founded in 1877, Timperley Sports Club is one of the oldest of its kind in the country.

The application says the extension will allow greater flexibility in terms of the number of diners the club can cater for with an extended kitchen, and the range of activities the function room can be used for, as well as  relocating the entrance.