Construction of a 34-storey tower with 316 rental homes is due to begin on land off Dantzic Street, just north of Manchester Victoria station, after developer Far East Consortium (FEC) appointed a contractor for the next phase of its Red Bank neighbourhood.

FEC has signed contracts worth £225 million with HG Construction to build four buildings on two plots, known as NT02 and NT03. Together they will hold 895 homes.

What is being built

The tower on plot NT02 will be FEC's first build-to-rent development, meaning the homes will be rented rather than sold. FEC said work on it would begin immediately, with completion expected by 2029.

Plot NT03 will have three buildings, named Falcon, Kingfisher and Midrise, with 579 homes between them. FEC said construction there is expected to start in early 2027. HG Construction says the scheme has Gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator, the stage that must be cleared before building work on higher-risk buildings can begin. HG says the four buildings will include courtyards, a social hub and resident amenities.

FEC got planning permission in August 2023 for 1,551 homes across NT02, NT03 and a third plot, NT04. The buildings are designed by architects Hawkins\Brown.

Affordable homes

The Manchester Evening News reports that at least five per cent of the homes are set to be affordable housing priced below market rates, and that Manchester City Council said the number could increase as the scheme moves forward.

Part of Victoria North

Red Bank is one of the neighbourhoods in Victoria North, a joint venture between FEC and Manchester City Council that aims to build 15,000 homes in north Manchester. According to FEC, Homes England's Housing Infrastructure Fund helped pay for enabling works to prepare the three Dantzic Street plots, which Manchester City Council and the contractor BAM completed this summer.

Councillor Gavin White, the council's executive member for housing and regeneration, said: "These sites, including the nearby Red Bank plateau, are incredibly challenging to bring forward with historic industrial uses and land contamination. So it's particularly positive news that construction will start imminently on the first site and kick start what will eventually become a 5,500-home investment across Red Bank."

Anthony Payne, operations director at FEC, said residents of the four buildings would have "outstanding amenities and green space" in a neighbourhood "just a few minutes' walk from the city centre".

Sources: Far East Consortium (FEC) press release; HG Construction project page; affordable housing details from the Manchester Evening News; also reported by Secret Manchester. This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked by an editor against the sources above.