Redevelopment of estate in the shadow of the Etihad ‘finally’ about to begin

The Grey Mare Lane estate in Beswick was built in the 1960s by Manchester City Council but has been subject to stalled regeneration efforts over the last few years.

Most recently, politicians had to go back to the drawing board on the project’s blueprint after housing association One Manchester was deemed ‘not up to the task’ of delivering the original scheme in full.

The Grey Mare Lane estate

Much of the difficulties revolved around retrofitting homes.

Initially, One Manchester offered to retrofit homes of both their own tenants and private homeowners who bought their property under the government right-to-buy programme.

But funding from the government to carry out the private home retrofits never materialised, meaning only social renters got the upgrades.

Now, with a new masterplan up for public consultation, another housing association has unveiled its plans to start the estate’s regeneration.

Great Places is hoping to build 69 apartments available for social rent on a vacant site on the corner of Grey Mare Lane and Ashton New Road.

the Manchester Bar pub

Previously, it was the Manchester Bar pub, which was demolished in 2020.

The new flats will be a mixture of one and two beds, with ground floor units having private garden spaces, and higher levels benefitting from recessed balconies, with ‘high-quality landscaping’ for all.

“We’re delighted to launch our public consultation and engage the local community on our plans which will provide a landmark gateway development as part of the wider Grey Mare Lane Masterplan area,” said the housing association’s Helen Spencer.

“The proposed development will provide high-quality, affordable housing in the area and we look forward to hearing the views of the local community and working with our partners to make this vision a reality.”

Connecting Grey Mare Lane to Newcombe Close

New pedestrian links will also improve the connectivity to Grey Mare Lane and Ashton New Road from Newcombe Close.

The designs have yet to be submitted for planning permission, but residents can have their say on the proposals online here, or by contacting [email protected] by July 31.