Work has started on site to build the UK’s first mobility hub which Manchester Ckuncil says will help Ancoats to become a ‘people first’ neighbourhood that prioritises streets for people over cars and providing sustainable travel.
The Hub will contain150 secure bike parking spaces and changing facilities, 102 Electronic vehicle charging points, with potential to increase in the future and up to 30 spaces for car club/car share schemes
There will be 406 car parking spaces for residents and visitors – limiting on-street car parking and on-site parking at future development sites (apart from disabled parking)
The Hub is a new concept in urban design, developed in partnership between Manchester City Council and Manchester Life, underpinning the Ancoats’ public realm strategy by prioritising green investment, public space, sustainable and active travel, and individual building design over space for car parking and vehicles.
Vehicle movements around Ancoats will be further reduced by the Hub’s delivery centre, which will receive parcels and other deliveries, which will either be collected by residents or transferred to buildings via small electric vans and cargo bikes.
Other community facilities in the Hub include commercial space for local businesses adjacent to the renewed Ancoats Green to create a third high-quality public space in the neighbourhood, in addition to Cutting Room Square and the marina.
The Hub, equipped with EV charging, will also provide residents access to car share clubs and cycle hire schemes to reduce the need for vehicle ownership. It will include 150 secure cycle parking spaces with changing facilities for neighbourhood visitors.
Leader of the Council Bev Craig, said:
“The redevelopment of Ancoats over the last two decades is an exemplar in urban renewal. And rightly so – the neighbourhood is internationally renowned and has been named one of the best places to live globally.
“This next phase of regeneration gives us an opportunity to think differently about how our residents occupy and interact with the space they live in. The Mobility Hub is a key part of this – helping to put the pedestrian, active travel and green public space as the focus of the neighbourhood, rather than the car.
“Upcoming development will deliver 1,500 new homes and the transformation of the local park in this part of our city centre and the Hub ensures that Ancoats will be not just renowned for regeneration, but for its sustainability – creating a low carbon, green neighbourhood that should be a model for future city centre investment.”
