Far East Consortium “FEC” and Manchester City Council “MCC” are celebrating a landmark moment in the £4bn Victoria North regeneration project, as residents begin moving into their new homes at the first phase of Victoria Riverside as part of the 15,000-home programme.
Benefitting from Housing Infrastructure Funding from Homes England, which has helped unlock more than 10.5 hectares of brownfield land in the Red Bank neighbourhood, Victoria Riverside comprises 634 new homes across three towers – Crown View, Park View and City View – and the distinctive Bromley Street. It also includes high-quality shared facilities, including a state-of-the-art gym, a residents’ lounge and landscaped podium gardens – with access for both open-market sale and shared ownership residents.
The first phase completing will comprise 341 homes. Of these, 128 homes will be available for Shared Ownership, delivered in partnership with housing association L&Q and representing one of the largest single contributions to affordable housing in the city centre in recent years. A further 293 open market homes are planned in a second phase to complete the Victoria Riverside scheme later this year.
Found, FEC’s in-house asset management brand, will manage all homes alongside the development’s leisure, amenity and retail offering, helping to build a vibrant new community in this part of the city. This first phase also includes ground floor commercial units, with an entrance on Dantzic Street to support retail, leisure and community in the neighbourhood.
Hilary Brett, Development Director at FEC, said: “Welcoming our first residents to Victoria Riverside is an incredibly proud moment for the partnership and a major milestone for Victoria North. This development reflects our shared commitment to delivering high-quality, sustainable homes and communities at pace and scale, underpinned by a true spirit of collaboration with MCC, Homes England and L&Q.
“We’re excited to see life begin to take root here in Red Bank – a place designed to foster community, creativity and connectivity. Victoria Riverside marks a significant step forward in the delivery of Victoria North, and its completion signals the momentum we’re now seeing across the whole programme.”
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “This is a great moment for the Victoria North programme – and it marks a moment when it feels like we are hitting our stride against the long-term vision for the regeneration of this part of our city.
“Alongside the homes at Victoria Riverside – which include affordable shared ownership opportunities – we will also soon see the Council homes for social rent completed in Collyhurst. This is crucial, because while being hugely ambitious, one of the largest regeneration programmes in the UK, Victoria North is about making sustainable communities. These are quality neighbourhoods that Manchester people can expect to be part of.”
Ben Seccombe, Assistant Director – Infrastructure Grants Project Management at Homes England, said: “Seeing people moving into their new homes is always a proud moment for Homes England and crystalises our mission of supporting the delivery of new homes and thriving communities.
“Our support for Victoria Riverside is a prime example of how Homes England funding is helping to unlock brownfield sites like Victoria North and enabling partners like FEC, Manchester City Council and L&Q to achieve their housing ambitions.”
Vicky Savage, Executive Group Director, Development and Sales at L&Q, said: “We are delighted to welcome the first Shared Ownership residents at Victoria Riverside soon, and mark this exciting milestone, both for the development and for the local community. We are grateful for the support of our partners and the local authority leadership, as we continue delivering on our commitment to tackle the housing crisis locally and meeting the growing demand for high-quality affordable homes.”
Nestled between the forthcoming 46-hectare City River Park and the established Angel Meadow Park, Victoria Riverside is the latest addition in a growing ecosystem of new destinations in Red Bank, already home to acclaimed food, drink and creative businesses such as The Spärrows, Half Dozen Other and Green Arches.
Victoria Riverside is one of several major projects currently being delivered across Victoria North, a joint venture that will reshape 155 hectares of former industrial land and increase Manchester’s population by 40,000 over the next decade. As the first development in the Red Bank neighbourhood, which plans to deliver over 5,000 homes and offer wild urbanism in its green spaces, it marks the start of a major new residential district taking shape.
Additional phases of the Victoria North masterplan that are already underway include 274 new homes in Collyhurst – including 130 Council homes for social rent – and Red Bank Riverside, which will deliver 1,551 new homes, alongside commercial and amenity space as well as significant amounts of new public realm
Another major development for the programme is a new Metrolink stop at Sandhills, announced as part of a major government investment package into public transport for Greater Manchester. The new stop will improve connectivity across the city and marks another key aspiration of the Victoria North programme being realised.
