City Planning Department, 1965-67
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Transcript of City Planning Department, 1965-67
Manchester Corporation
City Planning Department Report of the City Planning Officer J S Millar B Arch MTPI ARIBA
1965·67
City Planning Department, 1965-67
This report has been digitised by Martin Dodge from
the Department of Geography, University of
Manchester. The digitisation was supported by the
Manchester Statistical Society’s Campion Fund.
The copy of the report digitised kindly provided by
David Kaiserman.
Permission to digitise and release the report under
Creative Commons license was kindly granted by
Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives,
Manchester City Council.
(Email: [email protected])
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. 6 August 2014.
(Fron t Cover) Model of advisory proposals for the M arkel Street area.
To the Lord Mayor, Aldermen
and Members of the City Council
I have pl eas ure 1n presenting th e second repo rt
re lating to th e work of th e City Pl anning Departm ent
of th e Corporation . I would like to thank th e
Ch airman, Deputy Chairman and Memb ers of th e
T own Planning and Buildings Commit tee
respon si bl e for th e work of th e Departm ent, for
th eir consideration and enco uragement, and also
reco rd my app rec iation of th e help, advice and
co-ope rati on received from th e other Chi ef Officers
of th e Corpo ration and th eir staffs. ! would
particu lar ly like to thank th e staff of my own
Departm ent for th eir continued support and
enthusias m which has been a source of
encouragement to me through out th e period under
rev iew.
I am, My Lord Mayo r, Ladies and Gentl emen,
You r obedi ent Servant,
\
City Planning Offi cer.
City of Manchester
Town Planning and Buildings Committee
1965/66 Th e Lord Mayor-Alderman Bernard S. Langton, C.B.E., J .P.
1966/67 Th e Lord Mayor-Alderman Nellie Beer, 0.B.E., J .P.
Th e Chairman-Councillor E. Mell or Th e Chairman- Councillor E. Mellor
The Deputy Chairman- Councillor K. Easth am Th e Deputy Chairman - Councillor K. Eastham
Alderman 0. Lodge, J.P. Al derman P. Buckl ey
Ald erm an C. E. P. Stott, J .P. Ald erman 0. Lodge, J.P .
Alderman C. E. P. Stott, J.P. Ald erman Elizabeth A. Yarwood, J.P.
Councillor Sonia D. Alexand er Ald erman Eli zabeth A. Ya rwood, J.P.
Councillor J. Brod erick Councillor Sonia D. Alexand er
Councillor P. Buckley Councillor J. Brod ericil
Councillor W. A. Downward Councillor A. H. Burlin
Councillor D. J. Edwards Councillor W. A. Do wnward
Councillor K. Franklin Councillor D. J. Edwards
Councillor C. H. Hall, O.B.E . Councillor K. Fran lllin
Councillor F. Hatton, J .P. Councillor C. H. Hall, 0.B.E.
Councillor W. Hi gg in s Councillor F. Hatton, J.P.
Councillor J. Hussey Councillor W . Higgin s
Councillor L. Kell y Councillor L. Kelly
Councillor T . Lav in Councillor T. Lavin
Councillor D. G. Massey, T.D. Councillor D. G. Massey, T.D.
Councillor R. Massey Councillor R. Massey
Counc ill or A. O'Toole Councillor A. O'Toole
Counci ll or H. Platt Councillor H. Pl att
Council lor K. C. Sl ater Counci ll or J . T . Rollin s
Counci ll or N. Thomp so n, J .P. Councill or K. C. Slater
Preface
2
I am pl ea sed to have an opportunity of commenting
briefly on the progress which is being 111 acle in the
replanning and reb uilding of th e City . Th e second
report of the Pl anni ng Departm ent conveys
som ething of th e in creased tempo of building
activity within Manchester and ind icates th e many
different problems th at are having to be tackled as
part of th e renewal op eration . My impres sions are
many and va ried . Th e initi al i111petus created by th e
newly for111ed departm ent at th e ti111 e whe n th e f irst
report was written, has been susta in ed and indeed
ii is ev id ent that th e vo lum e of work has increased
and will in ev itab ly increase still furth er; it must be
rememb ered that whil st many new proposals and
sch emes have bee n put forward during th e las t
two yea rs, ii has been necessary at th e same tim e
to place grea ter emph asis on th e conso lid ation and
implementation of thos e wh ich are alrea dy under
way. Th e various "action areas"-the ter111 curren tly
us ed to describe areas of dynamic change-are
beg inning to fit tog eth er and make good sense;
th e var ious comp rehensi ve planning bri efs that have
been pre pared by th e D epartm en t now take on th e
appearance of a con tinu ous belt of redevelopm ent
proposals w hich cover th e inn er areas of th e
City f rom th e Stretford bound ary, throu gh Hulme,
th e Hi gher Education Prec inct, Longsight,
Beswi ck/ Bradfo rd , and Harp urhey, shortly to be
followed by Openshaw and Cheeth am. Th e planning
co ntex t for th e City 's fir st priority-c lea ring th e
remaining slum dwellin gs-has been firmly
es tablish ed and although much remain s to be clon e,
I am su re th at th e mo st immediate and press ing
planning probl ems have been reso lved.
Th e draft T own Centre Map proposals whic h bring
tog eth er th e results of co ntinuous worl1 over the
las t four yea rs or so are now virtually com pl eted.
It is enco urag in g th at so mu ch bui ldin g work is
under way in th e City Centre despite the recent ch ill
winds on th e eco nom ic fron t. Ov er the past two
years approvals have been given in th e City Centre
for major work totalling over £21 million , excludi ng
th e app licat ion by th e Arnd ale Prop erty Trust in the
Market Street/Withy Grove Area, which has been
'ca ll ed in' by th e Minister of Housing and Local
Governmen t for decision along with th e submitted
Compreh ensive Development Area proposals.
Buildin g to th e va lu e of £6 million, is under
co nstructi on at th e present tim e and this includes
a substant ial proportion of own er/ occupier
deve lopment of high quality . A furth er £7 million is
likely to be spen t by private and public agencies
over th e nex t two yea rs for proj ects; th ese include
th e second stag e of th e Market Centre scheme in
Norfol k Street incorporating the new Head Post
Offi ce , th e new Bank of England building on
Port land Street and th e new Regional Headq uarters
for th e B.B.C. D espite th e co111pl ex ity of most
Central Area proposals th ere were no major
app li ca tions awaiting decision by th e City Coun cil
at 31s t March 1967. It is also worth emphasising
that th e pace of deve lopment in th e Higher
Education Prec in ct con tinu es at a rapid rate;
pl anning approva ls have been g iv en over th e last two
years for buildings cos ting about £7 million and
about th e sam e va lu e of work is now under
co nstruction . I am su re that th e nex t few years wil l
see stea dy and con tinu ous progress in th e
re-s haping of th e City and th e crea ti on of an
improved environment.
~· Chairman of th e T ow n Pl ann in g
and Buildings Committee
Report of the City Planning Officer 1965 · 67
Contents Introduction . . . . . . • . 5
Review of Work , . . . . . 7
Public Relations . . • . . . . 27
Staff and Education . • . . . . 28
Appendices . . . . . . . . 29
Aerial view of part of the Hulme Redevelopment area and Mancunian Way. The Higher Education Precinct is to be seen in the middle distance and the Brunswick Neighbourhood beyond. (Photograph by courtesy of Airviews) .
4
Introduction
During the period covered by the second report
of the City Planning Department, it has become
increasingly evident that the factors which made it
necessary to strengthen the organisation and
technical resources engaged on the task of
replanning the City, are more relevant than ever.
It is now possible to review the progress that has
been made in consolidating the organisation which
was carefully built up in the initial period following
the establishment of the Department in December
1963; the results of earlier work and negotiations
with developers are now beginning to emerge in the
shape of a number of fine building projects.
The need for comprehensive development is greater
than ever over large areas of the City, and whilst the
number of realistic private schemes under
discussion has remained fairly constant, the
Department's efforts have been directed towards
prob lems of implementation and the need to ensure
that the schemes which are built are of high quality
and form part of a wider planning context.
The City's accelerated slum clearance programme,
with all that this entails, continues to place heavy
demands on the technical resources available;
whilst the shortage of qualified planners with
appropriate experience remains acute, the
Department has so far nevertheless been fortunate
in avoiding a high turnover of experienced technical
officers .
The Department is being called upon to play an
increasing role in many different directions and the
development and widening scope of its activities
have stretched to the limit the technical and
administrative resources available. The period under
review has been notable for increasing recognition
of the inter-dependance on both regional and
sub-regional levels of problems of land use,
transportation , population growth , particularly in
relation to future housing needs, facilities for
leisure and sport and industrial development;
this has been reflected in the activities of relatively
new organisations such as the Regional Economic
Councils and Boards and the Sports Council.
On the practical side an increasing volume of work
has been involved in connection with the South
East Lancashire and North East Cheshire
Transportation Study and the Rapid Transit Study
undertaken by an inter-departmental Working Party,
including British Rail with the support and
participation of the Ministry of Transport. The
service which the Department is capable of providing
as a background to policy decisions made
elsewhere, is being increasingly appreciated.
This is clearly one of the most important functions
of the Department and is a necessary pre-requisite
for soundly based decisions which need to be taken
in connection with a wide range of activities, not
necessarily immediately connected with the planning
process itself.
The period has been marked by a steady
development in consultations with other departments
and an improvement in the procedures appropriate
to the selection of sites to meet the needs of various
Committees of the Council; this should lead to a
closer relationship between building projects of
different kinds, and the Capital Works Programme
for the City as a whole. The Department's first
priority throughout the period has been directed
towards producing comprehensive planning briefs
for the areas affected by major slum clearance.
In the first report the proposals for the new Hulme
were described In some detail and since then
5
comprehensive planning briefs or district plans
have been produced for Beswick, Longsight,
Harpurhey and Openshaw. The planning work
which has been made necessary by the rate of
cl earance amounts to the production of a fairly
detailed planning framework for th e whole of th e
pre-1914 inner areas of the City ; large areas that
are not directly affected by slum clearance proposals
have had to be considered as part of the wider
context of new housing proposals , and this initial
framework plan for the inner city, is intended to
serve as the basic context for house building
operations over the next decade. Considerable
attention has been devoted to the consolidation
and extension of th e strategy of open space
proposals; progress has been made on various
schemes for tipping , reclamation and landscaping.
One of the highlights of the period under review
has been th e work, now almost completed, on the
draft Town Centre proposals, which incorporate
severa l three-dimensional advisory sch emes. These
proposals will now be the subject of consultations
with many interested parties and after careful
consideration of all the criticisms and suggestions
made, will be put to the City Council in amended
form for approval, and inclusion in th e first revi ew
of th e Development Plan. Th e completion of the
Town Centre Map will mark th e culmination of almost
five years continuous work, and co-relates the many
varied planning sch emes and proposals accepted
in principl e by th e City Council during this period .
The work undertaken more recently in conjunction
with th e City Engineer's, Transport and Police Departments in th e preparation of the joint report on
6
a Car Parking Policy for the City Centre and the
Rapid Transit Study are both of profound importance
to the future accessibility and prosperity of the
City Centre and also indicates the close liaison and
day-to-day working between the various Chief
Officers and departments concerned.
Work on the review of the Development Plan has
proceeded throughout the period with increasing
momentum and the production of the review
documents means in effect bringing togeth er all the
different aspects, projects and policies within one
overall policy statement. The Land Use Survey of
the City was completed in mid 1966 and the writing
of the necessary programmes for the computer
followed by the processing of data, has been a
continuous operation since the beginning of the
year; the results of this up-to-date survey are now
being embodied in a series of policy reports which
form th e "backbone" of the review itse!f. An
industrial questionnaire sent out last Summer and
which met with an excellent response is also being
processed and the results should assist with some
of the delicate and important problems of
industrial location.
The production of planning briefs for major
redevelopment areas of th e City, the formulation of
City Centre proposals, the Department's
contribution to the Rapid Transit Study, the SELNEC
Study, the growing need to find suitable sites to
meet the Corporation's overall building programme,
has once again emphasised th e importance of
inter-departmental consultation and teamwork
as well as th e need for continual improvement and
stream-lining of procedures and office management.
With limited resources the improvement of
management techniques is receiving the closest
attention so that the best use is made of both
people and various mechanical aids.
The last nine months or so have witnessed a
number of difficulties which result from the
economic climate and the measures designed to
restrict public and private expenditure. However,
it is still perhaps a little early to judge very clearly
the longer-term effects from a planning point
of view.
The Department now employs a staff of 112. No
important organisational changes have been made
and there remain three technical sections with an
Assistant City Planning Officer in charge of each,
and an Administration Section with a Chief
Administrative Officer at its head who operates,
in effect as an Office Manager. Although minor
re-organisation of personnel has naturally been
necessary from time to time, the basic size and
structure of the Department has remained
unaltered since its inception. In practice it has
proved satisfactory although the increasing
involvement of the Department in new fields and
the calls which are being made upon it to extend its
activities will inevitably call for some review of
resources and organisation . A complete list of all
the members of the Department is to be found in
Appendix 1. (page 30) .
At the end of the period covered by the first report
only four technical posts were vacant. Last Summer
six additional trainee posts were provided for the
Department which were subsequently filled by
graduates who have continued their planning studies
on a part time day release basis. There were four permanent vacancies on the 31st March 1967, though temporary survey assistants have been employed and held against these posts to expedite the processing of the Land Use Survey.
Considerable attention has again been devoted to recruitment , education, as well as public relations
and the press; there have been a number of
important articles written for technical and other
journals and various exhibitions have been mounted.
The space provided initially in the Department's
new home on the fifth floor of the Town Hall
Extension rapidly proved inadequate as the remaining
posts in the Department were filled and some
further accommodation is to be provided on the
same floor which will alleviate this problem
and obviate serious overcrowding. New acquisitions
have been made to keep the departmental Library
up-to-date and the slide collection has grown very
considerably. l Finally, the Staff Social Committee's work has
continued and the high point of last year's activities
was the visit by twenty-five members of the
Department to Rotterdam, one of the main growth
points and success stories of the European
Community; a visit to the Rotterdam Planning
Department was included when not only the
techn ical but the administrative developments
that have made it all possible, were described.
Apart from a full programme of social activities,
there has been a busy programme of meetings,
films and discussions, often with visiting specialist
lecturers, which have again been well attended;
the Committee's work is widely appreciated by the
members of the Department.
The Inner City-Redevelopment
Review of Work
Th e first report of th e D epartm ent consid ered th e
planning probl ems impli c it in th e immens e task of
cl ea ring th e slums; thi s entails th e replanning of
virt ual ly th e whole of th e inn er res id ential and
industri al areas of th e City built before 1914 . Th e
represen tati on of well over 5,000 unfit dwellings
a yea r by th e Medical Officer of Hea lth is demanding
th e production of an ou tlin e pl an for th e who le of
th e inn er city an d this initi al task is approaching
complet ion . Th e areas for whi ch ou tlin e bri efs have
bee n comp leted embrace about 1,600 acres and
includ e two thirds of th e total of about 45 ,000 slum
dwellings which remain to be cleared by 1973.
Th e character of th e areas which have had to be
rep lan ned is more di ve rse th an might be im ag in ed;
th e o ld Hulme, which was th e first area to be
tackl ed, wh ere rebuilding is now well under way,
had to be comp letely razed whi lst o th er areas wh ich
have now bee n considered wi ll not necessarily be
redeveloped within th e nex t ten yea rs as part of th e
c leara nce op eration ; such redevelopment th at wil l
occur may well be spread ov er a five to ten yea r
period . It wi ll be rea dily apprec iated th at in th ese
c ircumstances, no two areas present id enti ca l or
even very s im ilar problem s; th e technical diffi culti es
wh ich comprehensive redevelopm ent brings in it s
wake, even where on ly part of th e wider area is to
be redeve lop ed, have thrown up exceedingly co mpl ex
probl ems which following th e developm ent s in
planning thought wh ich have occured since th e
Deve lopment Pl an proposals have neces sit ated a
major re-ass essm ent of th e main prim ary as well
as th e seco nd ary road c ircul ati on which is so
vital to th e well bein g of th e redeve lop ment areas
th em se lves. Th e role of public transport and car
parl1ing and anc ill ary probl ems are of course now
major issu es whilst th e st rategy of longer term
redeve lopment, in cluding, for ex am p le, th e future of
existing important shopp ing cent res at present
loca ted along th e frontages of major radial roads
se rving th e metropolitan ce ntre, has had to be
included in th e area of study . It is virtuall y neve r
pos s ibl e to consider th e enviro nm ental p lanning of
on e o r more areas in is olation and through out th e
formul ation of plannin g briefs it has bee n found
essenti al to consid er eac h area in th e wid er con tex t
of th e stategic planning of th e City as a whol e.
Th e ramifica ti ons of th e c lea rance programme
represents a formid abl e vo lume of pl anning work,
not leas t becaus e it is es sential to follow up
out lin e proposals to ensure that th e more detail ed
developm ent proposed- hou s ing, schools, playing
fi eld s, district centres, shopping and soc ial
faciliti es of all kinds , road wo rks- is of h igh quality
and in acco rdance wi th broad er po l icy objectives
and planning standards.
Th e programm e of rebuilding th e inn er c ity within
a relatively short period of tim e represents a task
infini tely more delica te and more co mpl ex th an th e
c rea tion of a new se ttl ement on virgin land and on
thi s sca le it is undoubtedly a chal leng e to th e
plann ers, th e architec t s and th e engineers and to
Loca l Gove rnm ent it se lf.
Th e shortage of land ava il able for developm ent
within th e City remai ns a central an d vi rtu al ly
intractab le problem. Th e provision of publi c op en
sp<.ce, playing fi eld s, schoo ls, new roads and all
th e att endant fac iliti es required demand co nsid erabl e
areas of land; if adequate stand ards are to be
crea ted in new development, th en th e problem of
rehousing abou t half th e famili es displaced has to
be so lved ou tside th e City limits.
Th e present position on housing needs in th e
immediate future and how th ese might in part be
met, is shown in App endix 2 (pag e 32); it will be
readily appreciated from thes e figures th at th ere is
sti ll a subs tantia l shortage of sites and th is has
serious repercussions on th e phasing of th e
rebu ilding programme, particularly in the short term.
Th e D epartm ent has taken part in discussions aim ed
at securing sites outsid e th e City to meet this
deficit at var ious tim es during th e period under
rev iew. Th e failure to sec ure a satis fac to ry basis
upon which to procee d with th e Town D eve lopment
Sch eme at W esthoughton and th e subsequent
decision by th e Minister of Housing and Local
Gove rnm ent not to pursue th e W es thoughton
propos als furth er, only serves to emphasise th e
abs enc e of avai lab le sites for dwellings to meet
Man chester's rese ttl ement needs .
In th e period between April 1965 and March 1967,
26 areas w ithin th e City were declared as clea rance
areas (involving 10,467 dwell ing s); 23 housing
Comp ul sory Purchase Ord ers for redevelopment
purpos es had been made; 21 lo ca l public enqui ries
into such areas had bee n held and 10 areas had
bee n co nfirmed (invol ving 5,498 dwellings and
totalling 182 acres). Appendi x 3 (page 33)
provid es a more detail ed pi cture of th e ex tent
o f th e statutory worl1 upon which thi s D epartm ent
has bee n engaged as part of th e housing
programme.
7
8
•• • ,___ ___ __. ... _ --••• • . ,, •••• • • • ••• • ; •• Openshaw a
'/ /1/"~ ... ::1 • • ·:1~-''"'"' -· \ ... • ••• •• •• ...
Planning Briefs Th e production of outlin e briefs has pl aced heavy
demands on limited resources particularly in view
Redevelopment areas in the Inner City. Planning Briefs have now been approved for areas 1 lo 5 inclusive and a Brief for area 6 is now being prepared lo be followed by area 7.
of th e increasing level of statutory work and
pressures associated with the increased pace of
planning proposals particularly in the City Centre
and th e Higher Education Precinct. Great emphas is
continu es to be pl aced on th e consultation
procedures which have been establish ed between
departments , and with all thos e likely to be affected
in various ways by redevelopment, to ensure that
hardship is reduced to th e minimum and th e greatest
possible amount of information is mad e availab le
to reduce uncertainty .
Apart from th e planning proposals for th e new
Hulme and th e Moss Sid e District Centre , wh ich
were described in som e detail in on e of th e Depart
ment's first printed re ports, outlin e planning br iefs
have been compl eted for Beswick, Longsight,
Harpurhey and Openshaw and work on bri efs for
furth er areas is proceeding . (See App endi x 5 page 38) .
Beswick Th e outlin e proposals for the Beswick resident ial
neighbourhood cover about 300 acres ; th e
area is about H mil es from the centre of th e City
and th e population before cl ea rance began was
about 23,000. Th e eventual popul ation will be about
half this figure. Th e proposals provid e a planni ng
framework as part of th e broad er strategy of ren ewal
and are c losely inter-conn ected with th e prim ary
road network and open space proposals fo r th e
vall ey of th e River Medlock. Of parti cu lar interest is
th e prop osal to landscape thi s section of the
Med lo ck Valley which ultimately will form part of a
m uch wider open space system which includes
schoo l playing fields, a central "Town Park" of
some 13 acres and pedestrian footpath system.
A ltho ugh proposals for Beswick do not as in the
case of Hulme, include for a major district centre
to serve a wid er area, a rather smaller centre serving
the mo re immediate neighbourhood is included in
th e planning proposals and will need considerable
fu rther detailed study.
In th e pe riod between April, 1965 and March, 1967,
fou r sites were declared as Clearance Areas
(in volving 490 dwellings); five housing Compulsory
Purch ase Orders (2,122 dwellings) for redevelopment
purposes were made; six public Local Inquiries into
su ch areas were held and five areas were confirmed
(in vol vin g 2,651 dwellings and totalling 71 acres).
In J uly, 1966 an outline planning application for
344 hi gh rise dwellings on th e Wellington Street
Area was approved; the layout will accommodate
a fur th er 150 high rise and 270 low rise dwellings.
Th e fir st 344 dwellings are programmed for
com pl et ion between 1969 and 1970, a~d th e
remaind er by 1971.
Long sig ht Th e outline pl anning proposals for Longsight
cov er an area of about 430 acres two mil es to th e
south -east of th e City Centre; th e existing popula
tion is abo ut 26,000. Th e area of early redevelopment,
coveri ng 260 ac res, has an existing population of
about 20,000 and it is expected that th e popul ation
on redevelop m ent will be approxim ately 11,000. Th e
Model of the Beswick planning proposals indicating circulation, open space pa/tern and diagrammatic form of redevelopment .
first phase of redevelopment includes important
proposals for the re-organisation of the primary and
secondary road system (including the re-routing of
Stockport Road to allow for the creation of a large
residential area free from through traffic with a safe
and attractive environment, open space system and
direct pedestrian ways).
In the period April, 1965 to March, 1967, three sites
were declared as Clearance Areas (involving 2,712
dwellings) and one Housing Compulsory Purchase
Order for redevelopment purposes was confirmed
(involving 1,087 dwellings and totalling 32 acres).
In May, 1966 an outlin e planning application for
501 dwellings in the Gibson Street Area was
approved and is programmed for completion by
1969/71.
Harpurhey Th e fourth major redevelopment area is Harpurh ey,
2t miles to the north-east of th e City Centre , with a
population of about 36,500 before any cl earance
comm enced. Harpurhey presented very different
characteristics to previous areas and it was
necessary to consid er an area of about 900 acres
which form ed a natural 'environmental area' in
order to provide a context for formulating proposals
for about 200 acres likely to be red eveloped ov er th e
next ten years or so as part of th e slum clearance
programm e. Th e major part of this, som e 170 acres,
is within a fairly continuous area to th e east of
Rochd ale Road and south of Moston Lan e, and it is
primarily this area to which th e more detail ed
proposals relat e. Th e remaind er of th e
Model of the Longsighl planning proposals indicating circulation , open space pa/tern and areas of comprehensive redevelopment .
9
10
Model of the Harpurhey planning proposals indicating circulation, pedestrian footpath and open space system and diagrammatic form of redevelopment .
redevelopm ent during th e nex t ten years wi ll be in
respect of pockets of o lder prop erty within th e res t
of the area and is like ly to be more limited in ex tent.
In the area to be redeve loped th e population was
about 15,000 an d th e fu ture population wh en th e
area is rebuilt sh ould be abo ut 10,700. Th e future
population over th e wide r area considered will fall
to about 31,000. Thi s ta kes into account a reduction
in population resulting from redevelopm ent in th e
smaller po ckets to be cleared elsewhere .
Planning propo sal s for this area, wh ich include a
new Di strict Centre on the scale of that proposed
for Moss Sid e, presen t a part icular ly good
opportunity to achi eve much more than merely
res identi al red evelopment. Th e open space and
ped es tri an footpath system proposed for Harpurh ey
is of particu lar interest; th e proposa ls to transform
the Irk V all ey in to a park linking th e ex isting
Bo ggart Hole Cl ough and Queens Park are now
suppl emen ted by the dec ision to partia lly rec laim
and tip th e Moston Brook Va ll ey and th e form er
clay workin gs at Mo ston, wh ich wou ld eve ntuall y
be landscaped. It should ultimate ly be pos sibl e to
walk large ly through ope n pa rkl and from Bogg art
Hole Clou gh, sou th throu gh th e Irk Va ll ey, through
Queens Park, un der or ove r Rochda le Roa d, through
th e Moston Broo k Va ll ey and back to Boggart Hole
Cl ough , Th is open space pattern wou ld be furth er
strength ened cl . an extended visuall y by th e loca ti on
of sc hool s and pl aying fie ld s. As part of th e
implement r f a ion o landscapin g proposa ls through o t ti u ie redevelop ment area it wi ll be
necessary to draw up a landscap in g po li cy and
prepare many detail ed landscaped schemes.
In th e per iod April 1965 to March 1967, three sites
were declared as c lea rance areas (in vo lving 672
dwellin gs); four Housing Compulsory Purch ase
Ord ers (1 ,701 dwellings) for redeve lopment
pu rp oses were made; three public local inquiri es
into such areas were held and two areas were
confirmed (involving 1,051 dwellings and totalling
37 acres). In February 1966 a planning application
for th e redevelopment of th e Lodg e Street area
including 560 dwelling s was approved and in
Septemb er 1966 a simi lar ap pli cation cover in g th e
Turkey Lane area and in vo lvin g 745 dwellin gs was
approved.
Openshaw Th e outlin e proposa ls for Op enshaw cover about
500 ac res and th e area li es two mil es eas t of th e
City Centre. Th e ex istin g popu lation is about 15,000
and wi ll fall aft er redeve lopment to just over 8,000.
Th e planning propo sa ls are related to th e
primary road network of th e City an d th e area
co ntain s a diversity of indu stri al and other uses as
well as th e A shton Cana l which raise particu lar
land us e and circul ati on probl ems. Althou gh th e
opportunity is being taken to introduce th e max imum
amount of res id entia l use on sites th at co uld be
developed to provid e reaso nab le li vin g co ndition s
a cons id erab le part of th e area is dev oted to major
indu stri al ac ti viti es and th e redeve lopm ent of a
belt of unfit housin g along A shton New Road,
togeth er with vaca nt land at th e juncti on of th e
A shton and Stockp ort Cana ls for indu stri al purposes
wi ll rat iona li se th e industrial pattern of this part of
Openshaw. A furth er area of unfit dwellings to th e
south along Ashton Old Road cover ing 46 acres and
with an approx im ate popul ation of 5,500 does ,
howeve r, lend it se lf to redeve lopment for housing
and serv ice fa cili t ies and its ultimate population will
fall to about 1,400. Th e progress of statutory work
in Op enshaw has so far involv ed th e declarat ion
of three sites in volving 1,685 dwe lling s.
Cheetham and Other Areas Th e cl ea rance programm e wi ll eff ec t other areas
covering abou t 4,200 acres, th e strategic planning of
which sti ll requires consideration; th ese include:
Cheetham
Gorton and W est Gorton
Newton Heath
Moss Sid e
Proposa ls are now being prepared for Ch eetham
an area of abo ut 1,200 ac res located 1 ~ mil es north
of th e City Centre with a popul ation of about 33,000.
About 250 ac res, with an ex isting popu lat ion of about
13,000, are likely to be redeve loped with in th e nex t
ten yea rs and th e ultimate popu lation is li ke ly to
fall t o 9,500. Early redeve lopment wi ll take place
larg ely between Ch eetham Hill Road, th e propos ed
int erm ediate ring road and th e Cheetham shopping
centre. Th e popu lation of th e re111ain in g 880 acres is
ex pected to dec rease from 20,300 to 18,500 by 1981
due to th e recl evelop111 ent of iso lated po cke ts of
o lde r prop erty. Th e ultimate ove rall popu lati on w ill
thu s fall to about 28,000.
Betwee n Apri l, 1965 and March, 1967, th e statutory
work involved in th e Cheetham area inc luded the
declaration of six c learance areas (involving 2,139
dwellings) and the making of two Housing
Compulsory Purchase Ord ers (392 dwellings) for
redeve lopment purposes.
It is perhaps worth emphasising that th e end of th e
first stage in replanning the inner-residential areas
of th e City is now in sight; once th e overall
planning framework and strategy is estab lished it
will be necessary and possible to give more
consideration to detailed design probl ems which
arise in th e i111plementation of more specific
proposals. Th e most important aspect of all is
perhaps the detailed treatm ent of areas to be
landscaped and th e various district and local
centres of social act ivity. It is worth emphasising
that the planning process does not end after
strategic objectives and a physical framework has
been out lin ed; this is really on ly just the beginning
of a process in volving firstl y th e formulation of more
detail ed proposa ls , and secondly th e vital
co-ord in ati on and follow-up during the
implementation stages . Th e framework plans will
also provide an important and necessary contex t for
more detai led redevelopment proposals which will
ar is e in th e years ahead and which will not
nece ssarily be part of a slum cl earance operation.
Fin all y, th ese p lanning bri efs or framework pl ans ,
are essenti ally th e loca l plans referred to in the
Pl anning Advisory Group proposa ls and wi ll form a
ve ry i111portant part of propo sals to be included in
th e Rev iew of th e Deve lop111 ent Plan; thi s is referred
to later in th e Report.
11
Rebuilding-Progress in the Inner City
12
By the end ot th e period under review, a
consid erable part of th e northern area of th e
Brunswi ck Neighbo urhood-from Brunswi ck Street
to Mancu nian W ay, had bee n comp leted and th e
first major length of the ped est rian footpath system
may now be seen. Wh en Gartside Gardens which
was once a cemetery, ceases to be a self-co ntained
green oasis and th e remaining dwellin gs now under
construction are completed, it wil l be possible to
eva lu ate th e fi rst 111 ajor sch eme in th e City in vo lvi ng
virtually compl ete pedestr ian and vehic ul ar
separation. Consid erable attention has been paid
to landscaping in this area and a nu111ber of
semi-mature trees have been pl anted; th e
Frank Taylor Centre for th e rehabil itation of
hand icapped peop le des ign ed by th e City
Architec t, is th e first centre of its kind in th e City
and has attracted great interes t.
In th e Hulme Di stri ct , th e last two yea rs have seen
th e clea rance of virtually al l th e remainin g unfi t
dwellin gs and th e cont inuous constru ct ion of
local roads after th e div ersion of var ious
underground services.
Th e new South Hulme Secondary School,
St. Geo rg e's Primary Schoo l, th e new part of
St. Ignatius R.C. Second ary School, Mulberry Stree t
and E111d en Street Pri111 ary Schools are all virtually
co111p leted and are now being landscaped.
W o rk began in 1966 on St. Phillips C. of E. Pr imary
School and at th e beg inning o f this year on
St. Lawrences R.C . Infant Scho o l. Within th e
period fu rt her housing work began on th e first
phase of Hu lme-adjacent to the Stretford
boundary betwee n City Road and Stretford Road.
Ap art from th e multi-storey sect ra blocks built
earlier, th e remainder of th e dwellin gs are four and
two-storey; thi s area of 230 dwelli ngs is now
al111ost complete and occupied.
Th e Direc tor of Housing has als o let con t racts for
Hulme 2 betwee n City Road on th e north, and
Rutland Street on th e south; this is industrialised
housing an d work has pro ceeded ve ry rap idly.
Hulme 3 (north) and Hul111 e 4 are scheduled to start
in th e 111icldle of this year, and Hulm e 5, wh ich is
bei ng designed by Messrs . Wil son and W omersley
for th e Housing Committee, should star t at th e end
of th e yea r. Outlin e planning approval was also
given ea rli er this year to Hu l111e 3 (south) .
Consid erabl e attention is bein g given by th e
Departm ents concerned in th e redevelo p111 ent of
Hul111 e to landscaping and a nu111b er of sem i-mature
trees have also been planted as part of th e house
building operation.
Th e present programm e envisages th e completi on
of th e w ho le of th e hous in g devel opm ent in Hulme
by 1971, and th e bui ldi ng of th e Di str ict Cent re
shou ld be started before this el ate and shou ld take
a number of years to be co mpl eted.
T he new Hulme wil l have a popu lation of about
15,000, about 5,000 new dwellin gs, sc hoo ls,
a wid e rang e of co mmunity fac iliti es, a town pa rk,
play spaces and a Di stri ct Centre serving th e
wid er area of Moss Sid e.
T o th e north, Mancunian W ay now open to traffic,
has bee n landscaped and wo rk should com mence
later thi s yea r on th e Chorlton Road Extension.
A substantial part of th e redevelopment in th e
A ncoats, Mil es Pl atting and Collyllurst areas was
already co111p leted by 1965.
Of th e ou tstanding areas to be redeveloped work is
under way in Nels on Street on th e red evelopment
compr ising two 13-storey tower blocks , 4-storey
maisonettes, and 2-storey flats and houses;
ex tensions to th e Nelson Street Pr imary Schoo l are
proceeding. Simi lar ly, red eve lop ment is parti ally
comp leted in th e Collyhurst Stree t Area in the form
of 13-storey blocks, 4-storey maison ettes, and
2-storey housing .
A prelim inary scheme at Merryfi eld St reet has
bee n co mmenced to assess th e feasibility of
retaining some old er housing by an improvement
scheme and integra ting th ese into adjoinin g
redeve lopment.
(left) Model of Hulme 5 housing redevelopment de· signed by M essrs. Wilson and Womersley, Architects, for the Housing Committee . (Photograph by courtesy of the Architects).
(middle) Th e Franx Taylor Centre designed by the C~Y Architect, Mr. S. G. Besant Roberts. (Ph otograph Y courtesy of' the Architec1) .
District Centres
Main pedestrian way, St. George's N eighbourhood, Hulme, designed by the Director of Housing, Mr. J . Austen Bent.
Progress has been made in es tab li sh ing what new
shopping and social centres with a w id e range of
commu nity and recreational faciliti es will be required
in connection with th e redevelopment of the inner
city and which exis ting ce ntres will be remodelled
in th e future to fulfill similar functi o ns . Simil ar ly,
further study has taken place with rega rd to other
exis ting centres at Withington , Chorlton and
Wyth enshawe. The resu lts of the Land Use Survey
now being processed will serve as a check to some
of th e initial assumptions which have had to be
made to ensure that development is not held up .
Th e broader implications of the pattern of District
Centres proposed are being considered in th e
context of the Review of th e Deve lopment Plan
which will consider broader policy aspects
connected with shopping, communications,
accessibility etc.
Moss Side The initial planning work and the draft outline brief
of requirements has been the subject of
inter-departmental study and elaboration . The City
Arch itect has taken th ese initi al suggestions
forward to th e stage wh ere approval by th e
Committees concerned has been granted for th e
design proposals. Th e centre includes over 600
dwellings, closely related to the commun ity, social
and shopp ing faciliti es . It is hoped that progress
particularly in building the dwellings and th e first
phase of 50 shopping units will be rapid . There are
many interes tin g and origi nal ideas embodied in
this scheme which is ex tre mely forward looking.
Harpurhey Th e proposals for Harpu rh ey envisage a second
new District Cen tre and a design and accommodation
bri ef will be required.
Cheetham It is already evident th at th e ex isting shopping
centre along Ch eeth am Hill Road is th e natural
nucl eus for the furth er community and socia l
facilities that will be required to serve th e wider
area. A site for th e Abraham Moss College of
Furth er Education has been approved adjacent to
th e ex isting library an d clinic. Tog eth er with th e
major private shopping scheme which is now
virtually complete, th ese proposals would provide
the nucleus of th e new centre. Consid erab le more
detailed planning work will be required.
Long sight Proposals for district shopping facilities at
Longsight and th e necessary so cial and community
facilities to serve th e wid er area in th e longer term
will be required.
Withington Th e original outline plan for Withington Vill age
has been reappraised in th e light of comments
made by citizens of Withington at a Publi c Meeti ng
held to discuss the original study for th e area.
This has res ulted in amended proposals for a rath er
smaller area which cou ld be developed over a ten
year period being included in Compreh ensive
Development Area proposals. Th ese proposa ls
are ready for submission to th e Minister of Housing
and Local Gove rnm ent as soon as it is eviden t th at
sa tisfactory arrang ements for comprehensive
development ca n be made. In th e meantime th e
danger of unco-ordinated commercial developm ent
th at would have worsened an already serious
traffic situation and prejudiced th e achievement of a
satisfactory overall scheme has been avoided.
Chorlton Advi so ry planning proposals which would guide
redevelopment within the existing district centre on
Wilbraham Ro ad have been drawn up and planning
consent was given ear ly this year to a
comprehensive shopping, office and res id entia l
scheme, incorporating a clinic and a large car-park.
It will no doubt be appreciated that apart from th ese
district centres which will require considerable
and continuous planning work over the years,
irrespective of wh eth er th ey are to be completely
new like Moss Sid e or Harpurhey, or rebuilt
alongside ex isting fac iliti es as at Ch eetham or
Longsight, th ere are also other smaller centres
serving th e more immediate neighbourhood and
which include local shopping and also other social
and communi ty uses as at Varl ey Street, Miles
Plattin g, in th e Nelson Street redeve lopment area
and the centre to serve the Beswi ck redeve lopment
area. These smaller shopping and social cen tres are
also being cons idered and discussed with th e City
Architect and Director of Housing both of whom
are co ncerned with th e detailed architectu ral design .
13
Wythenshawe Town Centre Th e scheme for th e complet ion of th e
Wyth enshawe Town Centre, referred to in th e
first Report of th e Departm ent, was approve d in
August 1965. Th e revised layou t for th e Centre
inc lud ed:
i) Four blocks of flats which are now nearing
co mpl etion design ed by th e Direc tor of Housing.
ii) A Bowling All ey now in operat ion.
i ii) Apart from the ori gin al 37 shops comp leted, a
furth er 19 shops are nearing comple tion .
iv) A housing scheme comprising about 700
dwe llin gs now being designed by th e Direc tor
of Hous in g.
Building work on th e pub li c buildings comp lex,
designed by th e City Arch itec t has bee n held up
by th e present res tri cti ons on ca pital ex penditure
which unfortunately app ly to projects of this
character.
(above) Wyth enshawe Town Centre. New 8-s torey dwellings designed by the D irector of Housing, Mr. J. Austen Bent, now close the shopping vista .
Wythen shawe Hospital M aternity Unit designed by M essrs. Powell and M oya, Architects . (Photograph by courtesy of the Architects).
14
Industrial Survey and Relocation Con sid erab le attention has been given to both
short and long term indu stri al needs in th e Ci ty .
Many indus tri al and commercia l enterpris es are
aff ected by th e c lea rance programme and, apart
from th e sho rtage of readi ly avai lab le indu stri al
land in th e righ t locati ons an d in th e ownershi p of
th e Corporation, it has beco me evid ent th at many
of th e small er indu strial enterpris es are not able
eas ily to find ca pital required to build new premi ses
to th e high standards whi ch are des irabl e ii a
sa ti sfactory cha racter is to be ach ieved in
industri al estates. It has been found necessary in
connection with th e Rev iew of th e Deve lopm ent Plan
and because th ere is a need for more up-to-d ate
information, to carry out an indu stri al survey for the
City ; this took pl ace in June and July 1966 and a
detail ed qu estionnaire was sen t to 4,000 indu strial
undertaking s. Thi s was quite a formidabl e operat ion
and th e high rate of respons e has bee n encou ragi ng.
About 70 % repli ed and now th e task of analysin g
th e rep li es t o th e qu estionn aires is bein g
tackl ed and th e help wh ich is being given by the
Computer secti on of th e City Treas urer's
D epartm ent is gratefu ll y acknowl edged.
Th e first resu lts shou ld be ava il able toward s th e
en d of th e year providing info rmation on th e types of
firm s, th eir loca ti on and linkages, and th e
operationa l probl em s l ac ing th em in Manchester.
It is also hoped th at in th e co ntex t of th e
Deve lopm ent Plan Rev iew th e res ults of survey will
provid e more adeq uate guidance on both short term
and ultimate land requ irements.
A co mp lem entary and parallel survey of employment
has also bee n carried out. Th is covered all 8,500
com merc ial and industr ial es tablishm ents in the
City and in forma tion was derived partly from
officia l sources and partly by postal surveys. Th e
results of thi s survey wil l provide basic in formation
for emp loyment projections necessary for the
Review, and will be co-re lated with other informati on
such as traffic generation. A s all this information
is to be stored and ana lysed with th e help of the
Comp uter, together wi th th e land use survey
w hi ch is refer red to later, the foundations are being
laid for a data ban k for the City which cou ld
eventually be ex pa nd ed to include informati on
relating to many oth er serv ic es in a com patibl e
form.
A s an inter im mea sure, a report on indu strial
relocation was prepared in September 1966. Thi s
highli ghted prob lems of mainl y sma ll firm s
dependent on low re ntals and local labour faced
with relocat ion ar is ing from c lea rance. Th e increased
rate of c learance and th e decision to ensure more
com prehensive redevelopment appea red to have
led to a short term shor tage of land read ily
availab le for reloca tion. Many of th e ava il ab le
sites th eoret ical ly ca pab le of development for
ind ustrial use, we re less than one acre in ex tent,
and the area in Co rpora ti on ownership was ve ry
lim ited. On the other hand a major so urce of land
fo r relocation is now bei ng provid ed by th e clea rance
of un fit houses on land zon ed for industry and th e
total amount of industria l land which shou ld be mad e
avail abl e is about 60 ac res, though almost on e third
is required ultimately for major road works; about
anoth er 85 acres of ind ustrial land will become
avai labl e as a res ult of c lea rance between 1967 and
1973. Th e Departmen t is, th ere fore, examining
tog eth er with the City Estates D epartmen t , th e
possibilities of acqu iring s ites which would be
su itab le for th e co nstruction of terraced and
flatted factories which might be leased to
su itabl e displaced firms . Fra mework plans have been
prepared for th e Car lisle Street and Kay Street
Ind ustri al Areas; th e Carlisl e Street area forming
part of th e larger Bradford Industri al Area for which
a planning bri ef is bein g prepared . Framework plans
and bri efs als o have to be prepared for other
industrial areas needing improvement and
development ; careful attention has been given to
standards, problems of access and parking, loading
and unl oad in g, im proved types of fencing and
land scaping.
On e of th e City 's major build in g proj ects is
th e re location of the Smithf ield Wh olesa le
Fru it, V egetab le and Fi sh Market on th e former
locomotive works at Gorton. Thi s project, wh ich is
being des ign ed by th e City Architect , has been th e
subject of furth er disc uss ion and co nsultati on
between th e various departm en ts concerned;
carefu l attent ion has been given to th e pl anning ,
highway and landscaping prob lems assoc iated with
a scheme th at w ill cover 40 acres and wh ich wi ll
be a major traffic gene rator.
Capital Development and Site Selection
An important and increasing part of th e work of th e
D epartm ent co ncerns th e choice of sites for
development by var ious Committees of th e
Corporation. Steps have to be taken to ensure that
land wi ll be avai labl e in th e long term for all
essen ti al public serv ices where th ese are prov ided
by th e Corporati on or by other publi c Auth or iti es.
Sites mu st be def in ed with precision as th e
developm ent of land by th e Corporati on for buildings
or oth er faci lit ies becomes imminent. Th e
immediate, or short term, development programm es
of Corpora ti on Committees is based largely upon
th e forecas ts of capi tal inves tm ent for three to
five years ahead. Long term futu re requ irements for
pub lic development also have to be drawn
up. All deve lop in g departments of the
Corporation and a larg e number of outside public
and semi-public auth oriti es includin g
Govern men! Departm ents have been asked to
supply information about th eir present land holdings
and future needs in th e City up to abo ut 1981, so
th at pol ic ies can be formu lated and all ocati ons
made to meet these long term requirements wi th in
th e co ntex t of th e Revi ew of th e City D evelopm ent
Plan. Th e site requirements of a si mi lar ra nge of
departments and authoriti es have already bee n
embodied in th e ou tlin e plannin g bri efs or dis tri ct
plans already desc ribed . Durin g th e period very
c lose and va lu ab le wo rkin g arrang ements have been
developed on th e selection of sites with th e City
Arch itect and the City Estates and Valuation Officer,
and fo r th e education building programm e with th e
Chi ef Educati on Offi ce r.
15
Environment and Landscaping
16
Although it has been necessary to give priority
to the planning areas affected by slum clearance,
the Department is now beginning to consider the
first areas where groups of dwellings will be
improved as opposed to being demolished. There
will be opportunities to improve also the wider
environment and it will be necessary to collaborate
closely with the Medical Officer of Health; the
conservation and improvement of older areas of the
City where wholesale demolition will not take place,
will become of increasing importance as the
clearance programme is successfully accomplished.
Further progress has been made on the strategy for
the reclamation of derelict areas in accordance with
overall planning proposals for "green finger"
treatment along the river valleys and canals where
some of th e worst dereliction is concentrated.
Since the outline scheme for th e 100 acres
Irk Valley Park was prepared, which was described
in the last report, a second stage of th e Irk Vall ey
Scheme covering a furth er 200 acres has been
approved and will be incorporated as an amendment ;
to th e Development Plan. Detail ed landscaping
proposals are, th erefore, required for about 300 acres
of th e Irk Vall ey.
Th e Rochdal e Canal Act of 1952 effectively allowed
th e denavigation of th e canal except for a short
length in Manches ter forming th e link between th e
Bridg ewater Canal and th e Ashton Canal, a distance
of about 2* miles. From 1952 to date the condition
of th e denav igated section of th e canal has
deteriorated and presents a danger particularly to
children. The City Council, th erefore, cons id ered it
Sketches showing proposed treatment of the Rochdale Canal by courtesy of the Consultants, Derek Lovejoy and Associates; the Canal is opened up as a pedestrian greenway and a shallow waler treatment, earth moulding and tree planting are central features of the outline scheme.
Photograph looking north along the line of the Rochdale Canal; in the foreground the Canal Basin and beyond the obsolescent industrial pattern of the nineteenth century.
vital to seek authority through the 1965 Rochdale
Canal Act to acquire the canal, remove the dan gers,
and to improve its appearance. In consequence, a
preliminary study and report for the landscaping
and treatment of the canal has been drawn up by
Derek Lovejoy and Associates in association with
G. H. Hill and Sons, which has now been approved
by the City Council. It is suggested that a very
shallow open water treatment could make the
canal safe whilst retaining a feature of character
and interest. The line of the canal would remai n
in the form of a pedestrian greEn way linked with
shallow water cascades, paved play spaces and
sitting areas. It is hoped that it will be possibl e
to go ahead with detailed proposals that can be
carried out as soon as possible.
Proposals for the culverting, partial filling and
landscaping of th e Maston Brook-an essential
element in th e linked open space and landscap ing
treatm ent proposed in the District Plan for
Harpurhey, have also been approved in principl e.
Comprehensive study of th e full length of th e
Mersey Vall ey undertaken by th e Departm ent
tog eth er with Lancashire and Cheshire County
Planning Depa rtments on behalf of a workin g party
of T echnical Officers, has been prepared whi ch
recomm ends, among other things, major
landscap ing of th e va ll ey which should be used
intensive ly as a lin ear park and recreational area t o
serve th e south of th e City reg ion . It is proposed
th at a joint co mmittee be set up to co-ordinate
propo sa ls for th e treatment of th e va ll ey. In thi s
co nn ect ion further progress has also been mad e
towa rds impl ementing proposals previously
approved in principle by the College of Science and
Tec hnology for the tipping and reclamation of the
Hard y Farm area of the valley for use as playing
fie lds.
The Department, in close consultation with the
City Engineer's Department has also drawn up
prop osals for the detailed landscaping of the fringe
areas of Mancunian Way; the impl ementation of
these landscaping proposals, including the major
ro undabouts, is now approaching completion.
T he importance of th e landscaping aspects of the
many important projects now being planned or
carried out can not be over-stated. Wh en the
plann in g and development in connection with the
slum c lea rance programme is complete, the new
comm unities will eith er ex tend over or influence
somethi ng like one third of the City. Perhaps more
th an any oth er s ingl e factor, not exc luding the
archi tecture of th e buildings themselves, the
attracti veness of these new areas will depend on
th e quali ty and adequacy of th e landscap ing
treatment whi ch th ey receive. Ap art from the
redevelop ment areas th emselves, there are th e other
major projects hav ing landscap ing implications
th at are h igh on th e li st of prioriti es; these include
major hig hway project s such as th e proposals for
P rin cess Parkway , wh ich will provide Manch es ter
w ith an essential link to th e National Motorway
System, th e Sale Eas tern By-pass through th e
Mersey Va ll ey, the extens ion to Chorlton Road and
Prin cess Road Ex tension through Hulme, all of
whi ch demand pos itive landscaping ac ti on. Th ere
is an increasing volume of landscap ing work
arising out ot the detailed consideration of housing
and other Corporation building schemes,
particularly the relationship of major schools and
playing fields to the open space pattern as a whole.
It is of vital importance that landscaping design
should be carried out at the same time as the
planning and design of the development itself,
ii is not a veneer which can be app li ed afterwards
because in most cases landscaping considerations
are very relevant to the initi al and basic planning
and design decisions which have to be taken.
Princess Parkway, now affected by th e new road
proposals is still probably th e fin es t examp le of
urban parkway treatm en t in this country. As
Princess Parkway in its present form must inevitably
and most regrettably be affected, it is important th at
the new roads which replace it should be
worthy successors landscaped to th e highest
standards of design and quality.
Landscaping and planting lo Mancunian Way.
17
18
N t C 't ' Y Centre- Red evelopment
<:omprehens · indicating P~~e planning prop and diagramm:/~ctn,an circulali~~alsofor the City Cent ,orm of , pen 5 re redeve lopment. pace pattern
The most encourag ing aspect so far as th e City Centre is concerned is th e number and vo lume of majo r bui lding proj ec ts under co nstruction and th e larg e number of planning app rova ls which have bee n negotiated for projects to be built over th e next few years . This cons id erabl e building activity as well as the plann ing consents is , of co urs e, related to t he va rious advisory schemes which have already bee n approved as a gu id e to development; a more detail ed analysis and descript ion of the cen tral area planning wo rk wil l be avail ab le when th e draft T own Centre proposals are presented sho rtly .
Civ ic A rea New buildi ng s wh ich have bee n comp leted are Sco ttis h Life House in Crown Squ are, Quay Hou se, in Quay Street, offices in Ridg ef ield, and offices and sh ops in St. James's Squ are. In th e Lower Civi c A rea the f irs t phase of th e majo r scheme extendin g from Deansgate to Crown Squ are is almost co mpl ete and will be occupied by th e Education Department. It is hoped th at th e remaind er of this development for which detai led consent has bee n gi ven, wil l proceed immed iately and that
bu ilding work will co mm ence later this year on th e new Mag istrates Co urt, des ign ed by Yorke, Rosenberg and Mardall in association with th e City Architect; th is prom ises to be a building of th e hi ghest arch itectura l qua lity and has been carefu lly con sidered in relationship to Crown Square and th e oth er developments described. Approval has al so been give n to an ex tensio n to Rylands Lib rary des igned to be in character with th e ex istin g
(Above) Proposed City Magistrates Courts, Crown Square, designed by Messrs. Yorke, Rosenberg and M ardall, Architects, in association with the City Architect, Mr. S. G. Besant-Roberts. (Photograph by courtesy of the Architects) .
Lo wer part of the Civic Area development showing Crown Square with new Education Department Offices designed by M essrs. Leach, Rhodes and Walker, Architects.
building . In th e Upper Civic Area between Deansgate and th e T own Hall planning approval has been given for a major private office development th oug h it is not certa in at this point in tirn e when th e dev elopment will be carried out. Th e comp letion of th e Lower Ci vic Area, particularly around Crown Squ are wil l present an opportunity to make Crown Squ are into a major pedestri an paved an d planted space and powers are bein g so ught in the Par li amen tary Bill for 1967 to make poss ibl e th e clos in g of streets to vehicul ar traffic for environmental reasons . An assessment of th e po ss ibl e need for future civic accommodat ion was prepared by the City Architec t and th e City Planni ng Off icer which has imp ortant plann ing implications for th e area.
Aerial perspective of the Advisory Scheme prepared in 1962 for the area between the Town Hall and the Courts of Justice .
19
2()
The Market Place and Cathedral Area professional consu ltants to work with th e local
Following discussions between th e D epartment , authorities and other interests concerned with th e
th e City Engineer and th e City Engin ee r of Salford , need to improve the surroundings to th e Cath ed ral.
it has been found possible to mod ify th e alignment A repor t setting out guide lin es has been publish ed
of th e City Centre Road to the north of Exc hang e an d this ca ll s attention to th e inadequacy of th e
and Victoria Stations in Salford; th e previous Cath ed ral surroundings at th e present time.
alignment from Alb ert Bridg e along th e Ri ve r lrwell
an d up Cannon Stree t had caused a number of
importan t eng in eer ing and planning difficulties,
particularly with regard to th e re lati onship between
th e Cath edral and th e Market Pl ace Area. Th e new
ali gnment has mad e it possib le to modify th e
orig in al Advisory Sch eme for th e Cath ed ral Area
and thi s has now bee n discussed with th e
Royal Fin e Arts Commission and th e Cath ed ral
Authoriti es; a rev is ed scheme for th e whole of th e
Market Pl ace Area up to th e River lrwell , submitted
by private developers, has now receiv ed out lin e
co ns ent. The new proposals provide for improved
connections with th e Cathedral Precin ct and an
area of public open space in keeping with th e
character of this historic part of th e City . Th e
scheme, an d ind eed several other develo pm ents
approved in th e Parson age area wi ll make it possible
to open up a frontag e to th e river so th at in th e
lon g term a riversid e way may be provid ed. It is also
fitting to commend th e far-s ighted outlook of th e
Cath edral Authoriti es who have not on ly had th e
Cathedra l cleaned but have appo inted
Model of the Cathedral Area Advisory Scheme with the M arkel Place proposals on the left and Corn Exchange proposals on the right.
The Market Street Area Furth er study of th e Advisory Sch eme for th e heart
of th e City' s shopping area has resu lted in a number
of modifications and discussi ons with prospect ive
developers have continued, particul arly for the area
between Market Stree t and Withy Grove.
Comprehensive Development Area proposals for
th e Market Stree t Area were submitted to th e
Minister of Housing and Local Governm ent in
September 1966. Negotiations wh ich had been
tak in g pl ace over a number of years with Messrs.
Arnd ale Prop erty Trust Ltd . cu lminated in th e
submiss ion of an outline pl anning application at th e
beginning of this year fo r th e area between
Market Street and Withy Grove. In view of th e fact
that an inquiry into th e C.D.A. propo sals would be
necessary, an d also in view of th e va rious
objections which had been rece ived into both th e
C.D .A . and th e planning app li cation, th e Minister of
Housing and Local Governm ent cal led in th e
app li ca tion and informed th e Corp orati on th at he
proposed to hold an inquiry into both th e C.D .A .
and th e app li cation; th e inquiry is likely to be held
towards the end of 1967.
The fi rst phase of th e Market Centre Development
has now been completed and is virtually full y let.
It is worth noting that most of the shopping spaces
take th e form of small units particularly suitable
for the smaller shopkeeper. D emo lition of th e old
G.P.O. building has now been comp leted and th e
second phase should co mm ence thi s year. Thi s
sc heme will provide a new head Pos t Office with
shopp ing at gro und and basemen t leve ls linked
to the Market Centre across Brown Street at
basement level; it is hoped th at sub ject to further
traffic investigations it may be possible to c lose
Brown Street allow ing fr ee pedestrian movement
and amen ity treatmen t betwee n th e two halves of
t he sc heme at ground leve l. A number of other
important buildings are still under cons tru cti on;
the Oddfellows building in Fountain Street, off ices
and showrooms in High Street / Church Street , and
th e co-o rdin ated building developmen t for th e Sun
Alliance- London Assurance Group and the
Di stri ct Bank in King Street , where a new open
space ava il ab le to th e public, forms an integra l
part of the sc heme.
The new M arkel Centre designed by Messrs. Cruicl<.shank and Seward, Architects.
The Nicholas Street Area C.D.A. proposals have now been prepared for th e
area ea rm arked for an Arts Centre and it is hop ed
th at furth er progress w ill be made towards th e
rea li sati on of thi s important sc heme in th e near
future. In this part of th e City the Pi ccad illy Plaza
offi ces and hotel, th e St. J ames's Club in
Charlotte Stree t, and th e T elephone Building in
George Street have all been co mpl eted. Detail ed
co nsent was given to a new Bank of England
building on Portl and Street, to th e rear of the
Pi ccad ill y Hotel ; thi s is anoth er majo r project of hi gh
quality and it is hoped th at work will begin thi s year.
A new building for th e Commercial Union
A ss urance Co. has been co mpleted on a site
ad jacen t to th e City Art Gall ery and specia l care
was tal1en in th e design to create a sa ti sfactory
re lation ship between th e two buildings.
(Top) Proposed new Northern Regional Headquarters for the 8.8 .C. designed by Building Design Partnership, Architects, (Photograph by courtesy of the Architects).
(Middle) SI. James's Club and Offices, Charla/le Street, designed by Messrs . Gun/on and Gunlon, Architects, (Perspective by courtesy of the Architec ts).
(Left) Commercial Union Assuran ce Company building, Mosley Street, designed by Messrs. Dan iel Walney Eiloarl Inman & Nunn , Architects. (Photograph by courtesy of /h e Architects ).
21
Model of the Advisory Scheme (or the Central Station Area and M osley Street area includin g the proposed Aris Centre.
22
Central Station Area A fifth Advisory Sch eme which had to be
necessar ily of a tentati ve nature at this stag e was to
prepare for th e area which indicated one way in
which this part of th e City Centre might be
deve loped; th e area includes th e Central Station
Train Hall which is li sted as a building of sp eci al
architectural and hi stori ca l interes t and is shown
as retain ed, possibly for use as an Exhibition Hall ;
th e area is particularly suitabl e for major car
parking terminal faci liti es and would also be
suitabl e for res id ential accommodat ion, a measu re
of office and oth er us es as we ll as open space.
A policy report concern ed with the vital qu estion
of re-introdu cing res id ential accommodat ion into
th e City Centre was approved and th e
Smithfi eld Market Area, th e Byrom Stree t Area and
th e Central Station / Lower Mosl ey Street Area were
considered suitabl e areas and are now being
studied furth er to determin e their residential
potential. Th e Smithfi eld Market Area, about 14 acres
in ex tent, provid es th e opportunity for a first c lass
resid ential scheme which could completely transform
the character of th e northern fring es of th e Centre.
Th ese areas, deve loped in th e mai n for
res id enti al us e, would not only bring som e life to th e
Centra l Area at all tim es, but would also stimul ate
other forms of development.
Ap art from th e developments taking place within
areas for which Ad visory Schemes have been
prepared, th ere are severa l oth er schem es under
construction. Pi ccad illy Station, following
electrification of th e lin e to London , is now
completed and a new office block with shopp in g
units and in c luding with a reco nstru cted and
landscaped station approac h is under construction.
Th e completed schem e should provid e a more
fitting gateway for rail pass eng ers arriving in th e City .
Draft City Centre Proposals Following the joint report of th e City Engin ee r and
Surveyor , th e Transport Manager, th e Chi ef
Constable and th e City Planning Officer, on Car
Parking in Central Manchester, a basic element in
any town centre pl an, th e D epartm ent has taken
part in var ious consultations and furth er detail ed
study in connection with th e report and th e need to
implement car parking proposals as soon as
possibl e. Th e D epartm ents of th e City Engin ee r and
th e City Planning Officer have been working as a
tea m on probl ems co nn ected with highway and land
use pl anning; very cons id erabl e progress has been
(left) Proposed new Bank of England, Par/land Street, designed by M essrs. Fitzroy Robinson & Partners, Architects. (Photograph by courtesy of the Architects).
(below) Perspective of London Assurance Group development under construction in King Stree t designed by M essrs. Breit and Pollen in association with A. L. Brotherton & Partners. (Perspective by courtesy of the Architects).
made in settling the app ropri ate primary and
secondary highway network for th e City Cen tre in
relat ion to future land uses, and th e rev ised
proposals will also be th e subject of a joint report
of th e var ious officers concern ed. Th e resolution
of th ese probl ems tog ether with th e Car Park ing
Report referred to, has now made it possibl e to finalise
th e draft City Centre Map and Policy proposals.
Th e growing importance of th e reg ion al functions
carried out in th e City Cen tre may now be seen
more c lea rl y; apart from th e rapid ex pan sion of
faciliti es for high er ed ucation , th ere has been
steady growth in th e number of regional offices of
Governm ent departments, th e proposals for th e
B.B.C. Reg ional Headquarters, th e establishm ent
of th e Nation al Computing Centre, th e first
installm ent of which is th e completion of a building
to house th e computers th emselv es, th e decision to
es tablish a major Busin ess School within th e
High er Education Precinct and more evid ence of
furth er expansion in banking. Th e quality and
environment of th e City Centre still leaves a great
dea l to be desired, though many buildings have been
cl eaned including th e Cath edral and th e old T own
Hall; in consultation with th e Civic Tru st, studi es
are being undertaken to see if furth er areas may be
reserved for th e pedestrian; St. Ann's Squ are and
Crown Square which len d th emselves to partial
or compl ete closure to traffic, are cas es in point.
Although th e presence of underground services
makes tree planting in the City Centre difficult,
possibl e sites for a consid erabl e number of trees
have bee n suggested and th ese are now being
stu died in detail by th e City Engin ee r from th e
se rvices as pec t.
Manchester Higher Education Precinct During the period under review the Amendment
(lop left) Model of the overall plan for the Educa tion Precinct. Planning Consultants : Messrs. Wilson & Womersley . (Photograph by courtesy of the Consultant).
Humanities Building, M anchester University , designed by Building Design Partnership, Architects. (Photograph by courtesy of the Arch itects).
to the approved Developm ent Plan for th e Education
Precinct, was submitted to the Minister of Housing
and Local Government together with two concurrent
Compulsory Purchase Orders for land for new
Education projects; a Public Inquiry was held in
January of this year and the Minister's decision
is expected later in th e year. In addition the
Clifford Street and Higher Ormond Street Housing
Act Compulsory Purchase Orders, promoted to
clear unfit houses in th e Precinct area, were
submitted to th e Ministry, public inquiri es held,
and the Orders have bee n confirmed with minor
modifications.
Whilst this statutory work was being carried out,
th e preparation of more detail ed proposals for th e
Precinct, following on the Interim Report of
Septemb er 1964, has gone ahead rapidly. The
Final Report of the Consultants ''' has been rece ived
and accepted in principl e by th e Precinct Joint
Planning Committee and has been referred to the
constituent memb ers, i. e. the City, the University,
th e Institute of Sci ence and T echnology, and th e
United Manchester Hospitals.
On th e ground, th e Sci ence Quadrangl e at the
University is virtually complete and th e Economics
and Soci al Sci ences Building in Dov er Street and
th e Humaniti es Building s including th e University
Th eatre are finish ed; th e Arts Building Stage Ill
and th e Math ematics Building are under
construction; th e latter is particul arly s ignificant
as it in corpo rates th e fir st stage of th e upper
level pedestrian deck to be implemented
Proposed College of Music designed by Bickerdike , Allen and Partners, Architects. (Photograph by courtesy of the Architects) .
throughout areas of new development in the Precinct
to provide for pedestrian circulation separate from
vehicles. In addition, new buildings for the Town
Planning and Architecture Schools, Computer
Sciences, Busin ess School, Medical School Stag e I,
Precinct Centre including shops and residential
accommodation, two churches and an Ecum enical
Chaplaincy are in building programmes and should
be under construction by 1968/69. On the City's
sid e, the College of Art and Design Extension
is complete and new buildings for the Co lleg e of
Adult Education and a Hall of Resid ence for 200
students are in the 1967/68 building programm e. Th e
site of th e Colleg e of Music is now being cleared
and construction should start early next year.
Th e Institute of Science and T echnology has now
developed most of Area 'A' north of Mancunian
Way, between Sackville Street and London Road
and a start has been mad e on th e final proj ect in
this part of th e Campus at th e junction of
London Ro ad and Mancunian Way.
Furth er design work is being carried out on th e
planning of Area 'B' between Sackvill e Stree t and
Princ ess Street and on th e first stage of th e
residential accommodation in th e Stud ent Quarter
in th e main body of th e Prec inct, to start in 1968/69.
For th e United Manch ester Hospitals , a start has
now bee n made on th e new St. Mary 's Maternity
Hospital on th e north side of Hath ersage Road and
thi s will eventually provid e 175 beds and repl ace
th e old St. Mary 's at present lo ca ted on th e co rn er
of Whitworth Street W est and Oxford Stree t.
Detail s of all th e projects co mpl eted, under
23
construction or hav ing received planning permission
in th e period under review are shown in
App endices 10, 11 and 12 (pages 44, 45 and 46) .
Th e City Planning Officer, at the request of the
Precinct Committee, convened a Working Party on
Sports Facilities in the Precinct and following a
series of working meetings a report of th e Working
Party was prepared; this has been approved by the
Joint Committee and has been referred, with the
Final Report to the constituent members .
* All the projects mentioned are being developed in
accordance with the overall proposals prepared by
Messrs. Hugh Wilson and Lew is Womersley, the
planning consultants for the Precinct.
and the positive results of all this activity should
begin to be clearly seen over th e next few years.
24
(left) Pedestrian link between the College of Art and Design and the recently completed extension designed by the City Architect, Mr. S. G. Besant Roberts.
Proposed new SI. Mary's Maternity Hospital, Halhersage Road, United Manchester Hospitals, designed by Walkins, Gray and Partners , Architects. (Photograph by courtesy of the Architects) .
(below) Perspective of proposed Mathematics and Social Sciences and Electrical Engineering complex, Institute of Science and Tech nology designed by Messrs. Cruickshank and Seward Architects (Drawing by courtesy of the Architects).
Review of the Development Plan Th e Development Plan for the City was submitted
to th e Minister of Housing and Local Government in
1951 and approved in 1961. The Town and Country
Planning Act 1962, requires that Developm ent Pl ans
be reviewed every five years from th e date of th e
Minister's approval. During the fifteen years since
the Plan was prepared very considerable changes
have take n place, in particular the revision upwards
of population trends, th e unforeseen rate of
increase of motor cars and, of course, very
significant changes have taken place in th e
commercial and industrial structure. Th e Land Use
Survey , which is a statutory requirement of any
Revi ew, was designed to take full advantage of
computer application and to be capable of
continuous revision. Work on th e outside survey
was carried out by a team of temporary ass istants
in the summer and autumn of 1965 and now the very
complex task of processing th e survey data for feeding
to the computer is taking place. Whilst th e Land Use,
Industry and Employment Surveys and analyses
acco unt for th e major part of the research
programme undertaken as part of th e Review,
a study of the City in its regional context, as well as
basic research into population changes, has also
been carried out. Studi es of th e age/ sex structu re of
both planned and voluntary migrants from th e City
in recent years will also allcw an accurate
assessmen t to be mad e of th e structure of
population in 1981. Detailed studies of the ag e and
and household compos ition of population s in
c lea rance area tog eth er with predictions as to
th e ways in which th ese might change have
Id
been undertaken. Th ese will provid e a much firmer
bas is for the design of redevelopment areas in th e
City; the processing and presentation of this work
prog ramme is well advanced . Th e Depa rtment has
con ti nued to make its contribution to th e
S.E.L.N.E.C. Land Use/Transportation Study . Much
of t his study is of necessity concerned with
Land-Use planning and projections of Land Use,
Industry and Employment information. The survey
prog ramme already desc ribed provided essential
material for th ese forecasts in sufficient detail to be
of va lue for the purposes of th e study.
In 1966, th e Depa rtm ent of Education an d Science,
asked local authoriti es to und ertake a survey of
facilities for sport and physical rec reation ; th e survey
in Manchester was carried out jointly by th e Edu cat ion ,
Parks, Baths and Pl anning Departments. Th e results
provide a compre hens ive record of the provision
an d use of faci liti es and have been mad e ava il ab le
to the North W est Sp orts Council. Th e City
Pl ann ing Officer is Vice-Ch airman of th e T echn ical
Pan el of t he Sports Cou nci l and th e Departm ent is
takin g an ac tiv e par t in th e Council 's research
prog ram me.
Tran spo rtat ion is th e most exactin g prob lem facing
an urban planning authority . Fo ll owing a joint report
on Rapid Tra nsit to th e City Council in January 1966
th e Manches te r Rapid Transit Study was
establi shed. Work on thi s proj ec t consis ts of two
complemen tary studi es; on e in wh ich th e
comparat ive feasib ility of different sys tems is being
investi gated by a firm of co nsultants , and on e in
Whi ch Offi cers o f th e Departm ents represented 011
the study, tog eth er with officers of British Rail and
the Ministry of Transport , are studying th e
possibiliti es of making better use of th e area's
existing transport facilities . The Planning
Department has been involved in both aspects of
the study. In co-operation with th e Consultants,
De Leuw, Cath er and Partn ers, in association with
Hennes sy, Chadwick, O'H eo cha and Partn ers ,
environmental criteria have been formulated for
ap plication to Rapid Transit proposals . Th e study of
ex isting facilities has called for extensive research
into th e re lati onships between land deve lopment
and transport in the area, and into th e operational
problems of co nstraints on road use.
Brookfield Court, designed by the North of England Building Design Consortium, an example of increasing private residen tial schemes.
Development Applications Th e appendices, particularly Appendi x 13 (page 47)
present an overall statistical breakdown of the
volume of statutory work undertaken. Behind th e
statistics th ere are people and more than 150 a week
visit the Department to discuss their planning
probl ems or ideas for development. Th e aim of
improving pl anning standards, to encou rage a higher
quality of development and to co-ordinate th e
various separate private projects requires skill and
determination and above all time and patience.
In th e last reso rt, the success of any plan depends
on th e quality of work carried out on th e ground,
an d development control is regarded as a positive
process of planning as opposed to a ro utine
acti vity. Th e work in considering appli cations for
development has been re-o rganised, and
streamlin ed, and co nsiderab le improvemen t in
adminis trati ve procedures and record ing method s
has been mad e. Th e va lue of cons ultation
is nowh ere more apparent th an in th e attempts
made to cut down th e number of cases which
ac tu ally com e to an Appeal to th e Mini ster of
Housing an d Lo ca l Governm ent. Of 69 appea ls
following a refusal of planning permi ss ion by th e
Council lodged with th e Mini ster in th e two years
from 1st April 1965, only 17 actu ally went to appea l,
28 have been withdrawn and discuss ion s are
proceeding with th e remainder.
Two reports , th e fir st putt in g forward a draft pol icy
on th e spacin g and d is tributio n of petrol stations on
which th e Mi ni stry of Housin g and Lo ca l Government
have been asked for th eir views, th e seco nd
deali ng with Tree Preserva tion were presented.
25
Civic Trust Awards 1966
26
(above) Commended. District Library, Stretford Road, Hulme, designed by the City Architect, Mr. S. G. Besant Roberts. (Photograph by courtesy of the City Architect .)
(right) Award. Owens Park Student Village , Fallowfield, designed by Building Design Partnership, Architects. (Photograph by courtesy of the Architects) .
(below) Commended. Albany Court, Everett Road, Withington, designed by Peter Jordan , Architects. (Photograph by courtesy of ihe Architects) .
blic Relations
The Department has bee n stretch ed to th e limit by
the in creas ing vo lum e of public relations ac ti viti es,
visits of all kinds, talks , req uest s for articles, etc .
Public re lations and consultations are recognised
as an esse nti al part of th e planning process-a
valua ble bridge betw ee n th e planning authority and
cit ize n. Th e possibilities for positive work in this
direction are ve ry co nsid erabl e and a great dea l
remai ns to be don e to ex plain th e City's policies
and improve th e imag e of planning; neve rth eless
des pi te limited technical and fin anc ial reso urces ,
a co ns id erabl e contribution has bee n mad e to
publ ic relations work generally by memb ers of th e
Depa rtment.
Perhaps th e most important event was th e
Dep artment's first public exhibition staged in th e
Town Hall Exhibition Centre for three weeks in
October 1965. At leas t 10,000 peo pl e visited the
ex hib ition, and lectures were given to about 1,000
pup ils from Manchester schools. Although th e large
mode l was remov ed from th e Exhibition Hall for th e
per iod of th e World Cup eve nts, it is now th e centre
p iece of a permanent display which has bee n seen
by many thousands of peo pl e, including a large
nu mber of distinguished visitors from home and
ove rseas. From tim e to tim e it has bee n
sup plemented by various building projects
desig ned by th e City Architec t and th e Direc tor of
Hous ing. Th e larg e working mod el continu es to
prov id e th e Departm ent with a day to day working
too l. An exhibition mod el covering th e City Centre is
bei ng built by th e Departm ent' s mod ellin g sec ti on
wh ich will fo rm pa rt of th e public di spl ay o f draft
planning proposals for th e City Centre. Many other
smaller mod els have bee n built and a furth er mod el
of th e entire City to a smaller scale is also in
course of preparati on which w ill be of direct
relevance to th e proposals contain ed in the rev iew
of th e D eve lopm en t Pl an.
Th e D epartm ent co ntributed a section on th e
replanning of th e City for an exhibition on display
at th e International Road Co ngress held in London
last yea r. Small er ex hibitions have bee n mounted
with more limited objectives for events such as th e
Careers Convention held at Wilbraham Road
T echnical School las t year.
Th e respons e from th e public to th ese initi a l
attempts to convey th e scale and character of
planning proposals has been most encouraging
and it is apparent that this is a very important aspect
of our work; th e need for a suitable home for a
perman ent exhibition dev oted to th e rep lanning and
rebuilding of th e City has become very apparent.
Pl anning and the rebuilding of th e City f eatured
prominently in th e itinerary on th e occasion of the
Prim e Minister's visit to this City in May 1966, and
th e D epa rtm ent was delighted to ass ist in exp lainin g
th e City's va rious planning proposals. During this
period th e Minister of State for Economi c Affairs,
th en th e Right Honourabl e Geo rg e Brown, th e
Mini ster of Transpo rt, th e Right Honourab le
Barbara Castl e, and more recen tly th e Mini ste r of
Hous in g and Loca l Gov ernment, th e Right
Honourabl e Anthony Greenwood, have all vis ited
th e City and seen th e ex hibiti on of
pl annin g and reco nstru cti on propo sa ls. Th e
Th e Prime Minister, the Righi Honourable Harold Wilson , 0.8 .E., M.P ., accompanied by the Lord M ayor, Alderman Bernard S. Langton , C.B .E., J.P ., visited the exh ibition of planning and redevelopment proposals in May 1966. (Photograph by courtesy of the "Manchester Evening News" ).
27
Department itself has received visits from many
distinguished overseas visitors; Members of
Pa rli ament from Tanz ania, representatives of the
Leningrad City Sovi et; the Mayor of Nairobi ; th e
High Commissioner for Kenya, and parties of
Journa lists from Denmark, Cyprus, Japan, India
and Norway . A number of other distinguished
technical and planning specialists have also visited
th e Department through the intermediary of the
British Council.
Throughout the period the demand for speakers and
visits to th e Depa rtm ent has increased steadily.
Many organisations have visited the exhibit ions
and/or heard senior members of the Department
explain the City 's planning proposals. In all over the
last two years about 150 lectures and talks have been
given to perhaps about 2,000 people. Th ese have
inc luded a lecture to Planning Officers from Japan,
a visit from senior officers from th e Department of
Economic Affairs, and a visit from Commonwealth
Journalists as well as a wide range of social and
professional organ isations in Manchester.
Th e various publications produced by the
Departm ent are listed in an appendix; articles
prepared by the Department have appea red in
various technical journals, newspapers and
magazines and throughout relations with the Press
have been cordial.
28
Staff and Education
Whilst the Department has been fortunate in building
up an inter-professional planning team of high
calibre, the shortage of qualified planners continues
to make its elf felt in a number of ways. At a time of
national shortage th ere is always a possibility of a
premature "brain drain", unless the prospect for
promotion and advancement within the
organisation are satisfactory. In fact, there is a
relatively small team engaged on planning work
in th e City whilst the volume of work and areas of
responsibility are constantly growing. The past
twelve months have presented certain difficulties,
due primarily to the "squeeze" and the period of
severe restraint which followed. In view of th e fact
that a number of suitable applicants have expressed
the wish to join the Department it is to be hoped
that the present difficulties will be removed as soon
as possible. The wider economic and technical
implications of th e City's tremendous rehousing
effort and indeed th e increased volume of
redevelopment in the City is now more widely
appreciated and th e work listed in the technical
appendices certainly suggests that planning gives
value for money spent. The cost of running the
Departm ent works out at less than a twopenny rate
which compares very favourably with other urban
planning authorities such as Liverpool,
Newcast le-upon-Tyne and Coventry, where the
rates of development and redevelopment do not
compare in magnitude with Manchester. In these
circumstances wh at is now called Personne l
Management and careful atten tion to the needs of
staff, has received increasing consideration within
the limitations imposed by economic and
adm inistrative restraints.
Po st graduates undertaking part-time planning
courses cont inue to make a very important and
cont inuing contribution to th e Department's work.
An increasing number of graduates in the re lated
disciplines of economics, geography and soci ology,
are app lying for posts although the shortag e of
architect and engineer planners continu es to make
itself felt and this is a serious national problem in
relation particular ly to urban planning. Th e nu mber
of architects qualifying as planners has dropped
from over 300 in 1951 to 200 in 1966, and in th e case
of engineers from 150 in 1951 to less than 50 in 1966
There is often no financial advantage to be gained
from obtaining the second qualification in planning
and with more than adequate opportunities in
engineering, this very serious trend is accelerating.
On joining th e Department th ese graduates
either commence or continue part-time courses
for the Diploma in Town Planning at eith er
Manch ester University or the Leeds School of
Planning; they have one day free a week during terr
time to attend lectures and the Corporation pay 75'.)
of University fees and certain other expenses.
At the present tim e eleven members of th e staff
are engaged on part-time planning courses of this
kind. Three 'Open Days ' have been held, attended
by a total of 180 University students, som e of whom
subsequently applied for posts in the Dep artmen t.
Senior members of staff have attended Careers
Conventions at grammar schools and have
explained to parents and pupils th e opportunities fa
careers in the planning profession.
The City Planning Officer and Deputy City Plannint
Officer have served as External Examin ers at
Liverpool University School of Civic Design and the
Leeds School of Planning respectively; a nu mber o·
senior members of th e staff have continu ed to
ass ist in the training of planners, lecturing and
supervising studio work.
Appendices
Page 1 Members of Staff
30
2 Housing Needs and Land Resources 32
3 Housing Statutory Work and Major Public Enquiries 33
4 Major Housing Schemes Approved 35
5 Progress of Planning Briefs 38
6 Important Buildings completed in the Central Area 39
7 Important Buildings under construction in the Central Area 40
8 Major Planning Approvals In the Central Area 41
9 Major Planning Approvals outside the Central Area 43
4n Buildings under construction, in the Higher Education Precinct . 44
IV
11 Buildings completed, in the Higher Education Precinct 45
12 Major Planning Approvals granted, Higher Education Precinct 46
13 Applications for Permission to Develop Land 47
14 Analysis of Planning Applications considered 48
15 Analysis of Planning Decisions 49
16 Site Selection 50
17 Miscellaneous Information 51
Appendix 1
City Planning Department-members of Staff 31 March 1967
30
CITY PLANNING OFFICER
J S Millar BArch DipCD MTPI ARIBA
DEPUTY CITY PLANNING OFFICER
E A Rose DipArch DipTP MTPI ARIBA
ASSISTANT CITY PLANNING OFFICERS
City Centre and Special Projects
J K Billingham MArch DipArch DipTRP ARIBA
Development and Research
TV Hughes BA MCD DPA AMTPI
Redevelopment and Renewal
B Parnell BSc CEng AMIMunE
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
D W C!erc
CHIEF ASSISTANT PLANNING OFFICERS
B Barnett BSc AMTPI ARICS
D J Burns BA MCD AMTPI
J Dean DipTP CEng AMTPI AMIMunE AMIHE
R G Maund BSc DipTP AMTPI
F Mortimer
M D Pedley BA MTPI
H Seddon DipTP MTPI
SENIOR ASSISTANT PLANNING OFFICERS
F Bardsley BScTech CEng AMICE AMIMunE
M C Bradshaw MA DipTP AMTPI
G V S Clague BArch DipTP AMTPI
S Cooper BSc DipTP AMTPI
Miss E B Curtis DipTP AMTPI
R K Eastham DipArch DipTP ARIBA AMTPI
P M Eveson BA DipTP
J S Field DlpTP AMPTI
I N Goldthorpe DipArch DipTP AMTPI ARIBA
J R Hill DipTP CEng AMIMunE AMTPI ARICS
T Mellon BA MCD
P J Radcliffe BA DipTP ARIBA
J Reynolds DPA
K Taylor BA DipTP AMTPI
P F Truelove BA DipTP AMTPI
R F Truscott BSc DipTP AMTPI
J Waddington DipTP AMTPI
G W Wood DipTP AMTPI
M D Woods DipTP CEng AMIMunE AMTPI
GENERAL ASSIST ANT PLANNING OFFICERS
Miss R D Armitage BA
Miss P D Blow BA DipTP
RS Brackley DipTP
LG Coop BA
G Fletcher DipTP AMTPI
G R Goodall MSc BA
A E Guy LL B Barrister at Law
Miss I M Hodgkinson BA DipTP
G R Howell BSc DipTP AMTPI
SN Leach BSc
L P O'Reilly MA DipTP
PLANNING TRAINEES
Miss A B Batty B Sc
M J Brough BA
G 0 Hall BSc
D S Kaiserman BA
RP Ross BSc
C J Shepley BA
PLANNING ASSISTANTS
Mrs M Ballam
E J Bartley
Miss I Caldwell
Mrs M Cochrane BA
J W Gray
Mrs AM Jones
AC Jones
Miss J M Laidlaw
F Latham
L Meehan
SC Meyrick
JG Millett
DB Pickard
J S Robertshaw DipAD DA(Manc) LSIA
PC Seymour
G Shaw
J Swindells
A Walker
G J White
GENERAL ASSIST ANTS
J E Berry
Miss P A Brown
JR Collins
Mrs M Drake
Mrs M J Hancock
G H Mellor
G L Penny
H W Wilson
MODELLING
E Cootes
S Johnson
L McNally
R J Mitchell
DRAUGHTING
Miss A J Bayley
Miss T A Boyle
Miss S E Breeze
Mrs A Cowley
Miss P M Essam
Miss C A Hodgson
Miss B F McDiarmid
Miss J Parker
Miss JR Pitt
Miss L C Sadler
ADMINISTRATION
Miss E P Connor
Miss J McQueeney
Miss S A Murray
Mrs E Smith
W H Snowden
Miss L M Stephens
T A Thornton OMA
GT Tiani
SECRET ARIAL
Miss E C Close
Miss A King
TYPING
Mrs M Casanove (Typing Supervisor)
Miss J Chittleborough
Miss S E Gillbank
Mrs NL Keiiy
Miss BE Lowe
Mrs S Taubenhaus
Miss M Wood
31
1, •
Appendix 2
Housing Needs and Land Resources
32
A Needs
Total Housing Needs mid 1961-mld 1981
2a Municipal Houses built mid 1961 to December 1966
b Houses built by private developers mid 1961 to December 1966
c Estimate of private houses likely to be built January 1967 to mid 1981
d Houses built under Town Development Schemes:
Wlnsford
Macclesfield Crewe
416
1,250} ..:...2 4,000 .
416
2,625
Housing needs adjusted to December 1966
B Availability of Land to mid 1981
Land within the City (January 1967)
New land
II Redevelopment of Cleared Areas
Land outside the City (January 1967)
Sites In the course of development or immediately available
II Other sites:
Marple
Altrincham
700
1,000
Bury, Unsworth, and Walshaw 2,480
Wilmslow, Brook Farm etc. 2,700
dwellings 86,980
17,469
2,051
2,339
3,041 24,900
62,080
3,918
28,234 32,152
5,481
6,880 44,513
Deficit Balance 17,567 =
Appendix 3
A. Slum Clearance and Redevelopment
Period 1.4.65 to 31.3.67 Period before 1.4.65 Comprehensive Redevelopment Area Clearance Areas C.P.O's made Public C.P.O's Clearance Areas C.P.O's made Public C.P.O's Remarks
declared Inquiries confirmed declared Inquiries confirmed No. Dwllgs. No. Dwllgs. No. Dwllgs. No. Dwllgs. No. Dwllgs. No. Dwllgs. No. Dwllgs. No. Dwllgs.
I. RESIDENTIAL
Ancoats, Miles 3 1022 9 1564 9 1564 1 116 12 5848 9 5577 9 5577 9 5577 Major part of the work completed before 1.4.65. Platting, Collyhurst Redevelopment is now susbtantially completed.
Beswick 5 1746 5 1492 6 2716 5 2651 3 2428 1 1224 - - - - An area of some 300 acres to be completely redeveloped by mid 1970's. Clearance work commenced.
Brunswick 1 1069 1 1069 - - - - 2 1276 2 1276 2 1276 2 1276 Substantially cleared and redevelopment progressing rapidly.
Cheetham 7 2294 3 529 3 529 - - 1 137 - - - - - - Major clearance procedure just commencing.
Gorton 1 493 - - - - - - 1 1029 1 1029 1 1029 1 1029 Rebuilding has commenced but the main clearance procedure yet to be undertaken.
Harpurhey 3 672 4 1701 2 1465 2 1051 3 2282 2 1253 2 1253 2 1253 Clearance and redevelopment under way but the major part of renewal still to come.
Hulme 1 29 1 593 1 593 1 593 13 8582 12 7989 12 7989 12 7989 Statutory work completed. Redevelopment Is now under way.
Longsight 2 1643 - - - - 1 1087 2 1645 2 1645 2 1645 1 558 Clearance and redevelopment under way with the major areas still to be Implemented.
Openshaw 3 1685 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Statutory work just commencing.
II. INDUSTRIAL 4 742 6 1184 7 1465 7 1744 10 2479 5 1395 2 839 1 492 Land now becoming available and site allocations for displaced Industries commencing.
Ill. City Centre and 1 86 4 594 4 594 2 463 3 508 - - - - - - Land now becoming available for education purposes. Education Precinct
33
B. Major Public local Enquiries
Subject
Acquisition of land at Walshaw and Unsworth, Bury, for resettlement of Manchester families.
Acquisition of land at Wal shaw and Unsworth, Bury, for resettlement of Manchester families.
National Coal Board application for permission to mine under the City.
Proposed use of land by the City at Victoria Avenue East, zoned for open space, for residential purposes.
Amendment of the Development Plan and compulsory acquisition of land for education purposes In the Education Precinct.
34
Date
September 1965
March 1967
March 1966
January 1967
January 1967
Remarks
The City Council made C.P.O's and planning applications on 243 acres of land at Bury. Bury County Borough and other bodies objected and following an Inquiry the Minister confirmed the Orders with the omission of 10 acres and subject to special Parliamentary procedure in July 1966.
Hearing before a Committee in the House of Lords into Bury's objection to the Minister confirming the C.P.O's. The Committee upheld the Minister's decision with the exclusion of 30 acres at Walshaw.
The Minister called an Inquiry into the Implications involved in the N.C.B. application for total extraction of the Crombouke and Roger Seams to the northeast of the City Centre. The City Council objected mainly on the grounds that ensuing subsidence would occur under areas that have been recently redeveloped or where redevelopment is imminent.
The Minister called an Inquiry Into the City Council's application to develop 70 acres of land for residential purposes. This land formerly occupied by temporary bungalows is zoned for open space. The shortage of land for dwellings inside the City led to the proposal.
Inquiry into the City Council's proposal to designate land for education purposes and for the purposes of the B.B.C. which is zoned for residential uses at present. It was also held into the designation of the land as subject to compulsory acquisition.
Appendix 4
Major Housing Schemes Approved A. Public
Location Site
I Details No. of Dwellings Approved
Collyhurst Road Redevelopment Area Two 13-storey blocks 128 flats 4.8.65
* Hulme Comprehensive Redevelopment Stage Ill (part) 9-storey flats, 4 and 6-storey maisonettes, 2 and 3-storey houses 719 dwellings 1.12.65
* Stage IV 4-storey maisonettes, flats and 2-storey houses 441 dwellings 1.12.65 " " " * Stage V 6-storey maisonettes 924 dwellings 1.12.65 " " "
*Wythenshawe Civic Centre Four 8-storey blocks 344 Aged persons flats 5.1.66
Wythenshawe Scout Drive 2-storey 38 dwellings 2.3.66
*Lodge Street, Harpurhey Redevelopment Area 13-storey flats, 4-storey maisonettes, 3-storey flats, 2-storey houses 560 dwellings 2.2.66
* Nelson Street, Miles Platting Redevelopment Area 13-storey flats, 4-storey maisonettes, 2-storey flats, 2-storey houses 323 dwellings 2.2.66
Rusholme Platt Court 3-storey flats and maisonettes 26 dwellings 6.4.66
Thomas Street, Gorton Redevelopment Area 4-storey maisonettes, 2-storey houses 528 dwellings 4.5.66
* Gibson Street, Longslght Redevelopment Area 6-storey maisonettes 501 dwellings 25.5.66
* Wellington Street, Beswick Redevelopment Area (part) 6-storey maisonettes 344 dwellings 6.7.66
* Gorton Abbey Hey Lane One 15-storey block 72 flats 5.10.66
*Turkey Lane, Harpurhey Redevelopment Area 6-storey maisonettes 745 dwellings 5.10.66
* Hulme Comprehensive Redevelopment Stage Ill (part) One 9-storey block, 4 and 6-storey maisonettes, 2-storey houses 323 dwellings 1.2.67
Gorton Annersley Terrace One 15-storey block and single storey bungalows 90 dwellings 1.3.67
total 6106
*Outline applications only.
35
B. Housing Associations
Location \ Sile Details No. of Dwellings Approved
East Didsbury Millgate Lane 3-storey block of flats 25 flats 5.5.65
East Didsbury King sway Two 5-storey blocks of flats 48 flats 26.5.65
*Victoria Park Conyngham Road One block of flats 88 flats 7.4.65
Newton Heath Briscoe Lane Eight 1-storey flats and 2-storey flats 22 flats 7.4.65
Blackley Blackley New Road Three and two storey flats 48 flats 1.9.65
Withington Wilmslow Road Two 3-storey blocks of flats 12 flats 3.11.65
Fallowfield Richmond Road Two 3-storey blocks of flats 18 flats 5.1.66
*Chorlton Edge Lane 3-storey flats and 2-storey houses 76 flats 10 houses 4.5.66
* Didsbury Barlow Moor Road 3-storey block of flats 21 fiats 6.7.66
*East Didsbury King sway 3-storey block of flats 32 f lats 7.9.66
Levenshulme Grange Avenue 3-storey block of flats 18 flats 6.7.66
Dldsbury Dene Road 8-storey block of flats 48 flats 3.8.66
East Didsbury Miilgate Lane 3-storey block of flats 29 flats 7.9.66
• west Dldsbury The Beeches Erection of flats 71 flats 5.10.66
Victoria Park Conyngham Road Two 3-storey blocks of flats 20 flats 1.2.67
Levenshulme Central Avenue 3-storey block of flats 36 flats 1.2.67
* Levenshulme Slade Lane 3-storey block of flats 18 flats 1.3.67
*Withington Wilmslow Road 3-storey flats 60 flats 1.3.67
*Outline applications only. total 700
36
C. Private
Location Site Details No. of Dwellings Approved
West Didsbury Lapwing Lane Seven 3-storey blocks of flats 63 flats 4.8.65 *Dldsbury Spath Road/Lancaster Road Erection of flats 5.5.65 Chorlton Ivy Farm Three 3-storey blocks of flats 36 flats 5.5.65 Withington Wilmslow Road Two 3-storey blocks of flats 63 flats 7.4.65 Crumpsall Middleton Road Three 3-storey blocks of flats 18 flats 7.4.65
*Victoria Park Anson Road Flats and houses 32 flats 24 houses 26.5.65 *West Didsbury Lapwing Lane 4-storey block of flats 42 flats 1.9.65 *Whalley Range Whalley Road 3-storey block of flats 36 flats 6.10.65 Brooklands Cranleigh Drive 3-storey flats and houses 2-storey houses 12 flats 45 houses 6.10.65 Dldsbury Holmwood Road 2-storey block of flats 13 flats 5.1.66
*Dldsbury Dene Road/Wilmslow Road 3-storey block of flats 18 flats 3.11.65 Withington Heaton Road 3-storey block of flats 12 flats 1.12.65
*Didsbury Palatine Road Six blocks of flats 36 flats 6.4.66 Gorton Abbey Hey Lane 2-storey houses 26 semi-detached 1 detached 6.7.66 Chorlton-cum-Hardy Wilbraham Road Two 3-storey blocks of flats 90 flats 2.11.66 Dldsbury Tintern Avenue Five 3-storey blocks of flats 45 flats 2.11.66
*Newton Heath Jocelyn Street Residential development 4.1.67 *Gatley Park Road Residential development 1.3.67 *Dldsbury Mersey Road Erection of flats 1.3.67 *Dldsbury Fog Lane 3-storey block of flats 40 flats 1.3.67
total 652 '"Outline applications only. -
37
, . I
Appendix 5
Progress of Planning Briefs
38
Brief
I. RESIDENTIAL AREAS: Beswick Comprehensive Redevelopment Area
Longsight Comprehensive Redevelopment Area
Harpurhey Comprehensive Redevelopment Area
Openshaw Comprehensive Redevelopment Area
Cheetham Comprehensive Redevelopment Area
Gorton and West Gorton Comprehensive Redevelopment Area
II. INDUSTRIAL AREAS Bradford Industrial Area
Included within the Bradford Area: (I) Carlisle Street Redevelopment Area (ii) Kay Street Redevelopment Area
Approved by City Council
November 1965
August 1966
October 1966
August 1966 November 1966 }
Remarks
Clearance now proceeding in the Wellington Street, Devon Street and Napier Street C.P.O Liaison work is taking place with the Housing Department on detailed layouts.
Clearance proceeding in the Gibson/Syndall Street C.P.O's. Liaison work taking place with ti Housing Department on detailed layouts.
Clearance proceeding in the Turkey Lane C.P.O. Rebuilding has commenced In the Lodge Stre C.P.O. area and liaison work with the Housing Department on the details of future C.P.O's taking place.
Planning Brief nearly complete.
Planning Brief is In the course of preparation, the area is defined and survey work and consultations are proceeding.
The area has been defined and survey work is in progress.
This Brief covering the overall Bradford Industrial Comprehensive Redevelopment Area is course of preparation.
Prepared In conjunction with the City Estates and Valuation Officer to deal with the pressur· arising from the need for relocation of Industries disturbed by clearance elsewhere.
Appendix 6 Important Buildings Completed in the Central Area (April 196~March 1967)
Area of Uses-Square Feet
Location Brief Description Other Uses Sq. ft. Estimated Cost Offices Shops Storage
St. James' Square 9-storey offices and showrooms 53,000 11,000 - Car parking £450,000 (showrooms)
29 Peter Street 6-storey offices and showrooms 13,000 5,200 - Car parking £100,000 (showrooms)
City Road/River Place 3-storey warehouse 6,000 - 14,000 Car parking £90,000
Charlotte Street/George Street 15-storey club and offices 44,000 - - Club 27,000 £300,000
Piccadilly Plaza Hotel - - - Hotel £800,000
Piccadilly Plaza Office blocks 290,000 - - - £1,450,000
Commercial Union Assurance, Mosley Street 7-storey office block 40,370 - - Car parking £390,000
I Shops }
Bridge Street/Dolefield (Scottish Life House) 9-storey office block, shops etc. 60,000 2,000 - Showrooms 90,000 £360,000 P.H.
Quay House, Quay Street Offices and Shops 89,000 5,000 - Car parking £375,000
John Dalton Street/Ridgefield 6-storey offices and shops 18,000 5,600 6,300 - £150,000
Market Street/Brown Street (Market Centre) Office and shopping complex 49,000 52,000 - Car parking 25,000 £500,000
3/5 Charlotte Street (Sun Life) 4-storey office block 12,500 - - Car parking £75,000
York Street/George Street Telephone Exchange - - - £450,000
--- ---Buildings completed December 1963 - March 1965 £1,600,000
674,870 80,800 20,300 £5,490,000
= =
39
Appendix 7
Important Buildings under construction in the Central Area April 1965-March 1967
Area of Uses-Square Feet Location Brief Description
Offices Shops Storage Other Uses Sq. ft. Estimated Cost
35 Peter Street 6-storey offices and showrooms 16,000 5,300 - Car parking - £117,000 (showrooms)
High Street/Church Street 9-storey warehouse, showrooms and shops 36,500 59,500 - Car park - £300,000
St. Andrews Street G.P.O. Parcels Office 60,000 - - Parcels Depot 160,000 £1,100,000
King Street/Cheapslde District Bank 120,000 - 20,500 Canteen 21,000 £1,750,000
King Street/Pall Mall London Assurance Group, Office Development 88,300 - 12,800 Car park 15,000 £750,000
Fountain Street/York Street Oddfellows House 35,800 9,000 400 Car park 10,000 £300,000 (Includes Public House) Flats 5,000
Crown Square/Wood Street/Cumberland Street Office Block, Phase 1. (Education Offices) 125,000 - - - - £625,000
Piccadilly Station Approach Offices and Shops 159,500 21,900 - Petrol Fiiiing Station, Car Park - £1,000,000
Dickinson Street New wing to existing N.W.E.B. offices 66,000 - - Car parking - £330,000
707,100 95,700 33,700 £6,272,000
Buildings under construction December 1963-March 1965 £4,270,000
40
r.--·
Appendix 8
Major Planning Approvals April 1965-March 1967
,,
· ~·
.,
' I~
i
:· ·I Area of Uses-Square Feet
c Location Brief Description Other Uses Sq. ft. Estimated Cost
Offices Shops Storage
l
r London Road/Travis Street Offices, Showrooms, and Petrol filling Station - 11,000 - Motel } (showrooms) Public House 28,000 £1 85,000
}: Restaurant Petrol Station 17,000 Car Park 12,000
Market Street/Spring Gardens Head Post Office, Offices Shops, etc. 77,500 60,000 18,000 Flats 2,000 £1 ,000,000 (Post Office)
St. Andrew's Street/Travis Street G.P.O. Parcels Office 60,000 - - Parcels Depot 160,000 £1,100,000
Dickinson Street New wing to existing N.W.E.B. Offices 66,000 - - Car parking £330,000 ,;
Market Street/Cross Street Offices and Shops Areas not given Car parking -':
* King Street/Cheapside District Bank 120,000 - 20,500 Canteen 21,000 £1,750,000
Liverpool Road/Wellington Place Warehouse, Showroom, etc. - 8,000 13,000 Garage 9,000 £80,000 (showrooms)
*Fountain Street/York Street Oddfellows House 35,800 9,000 400 Car park 10,000 £300,000 (includes Public House) Flats 5,000
Crown Square Magistrates' Courts Total area of courtrooms, offices etc., 170,000 £2,500,000 '
*King Street/ Pall Mall London Assurance Group Office Development 94,500 - 12,800 Car park 15,000 £780,000 I
*Crown Square/Cumberland Street Office Block Phase II (part ) 98,500 14,000 16,700 Car parking 16,000 £690,000 (showrooms, Public House
*Detailed approval following previous outline approval and restaurant)
between 1963-1965
i 41 ' ·"'"'"- - ~ ~ -···~
Area of Uses-Square Feet Location Brief Description Other Uses Sq. ft. Estimated Cost
Offices Shops Storage
Queen Street/Lloyd Street Office block 107,000 13,400 - Church Hall 2,000 £600,000 (showrooms) Car parking 42,000
Miiier Street/Rochdale Road/Dantzic Street Warehouse, showrooms, multi-storey car Areas not given -park etc.
Store Street/Boad Street, Ancoats Warehousing and/or light industry Areas not given -
Baird Street/Portugal Street, Ancoats Warehousing and/or light industry Areas not given -
Portland Street/York Street Bank of England 74,300 - - Banking 51,000 £2,000,000 Car parking
16/20 St. Mary's Parsonage, etc. Regional Headquarters and offices for North Areas not given -Western Federation of Building Trades Employers
14/22 Parsonage Office block, showroom, 34,000 - 18,500 Car parking 11,000 £250,000 Flats 4,500
2/6 Parsonage Office block 35,000 - - Car parking 8,000 £300,000 Canteen 6,000
* Charles Street/York Street, Chorlton-on-Medlock Office block and petrol filling station 40,000 - - Car parking 3,500 £167,000
Market Place/River lrwell Comprehensive commercial development 130,000 300,000 - Hotel 59,000 £3,200,000 Car parking Landscaped and pedestrian areas
* Crown Square/Cumberland Street Offices Phase II (balance) and Phase Ill 288,000 - -Car parking £1,440,000
*Rylands Library, Deansgate Extension - - -Stockrooms } 17,500 £90,000 Flat
Oxford Road/Charles Street BBC Regional Headquarters 78,000 - 45,000 Studios
} --- --- Garages 210,000 £4,500,000 1,338,600 415,400 144,900 Workshops ---
= = Catering, etc. 879,500 £21,262,000 =
42
Appendix 9 Major Planning Approvals outside the City Centre (excluding Housing)
Location Proposal Date Approved Estimated Cost
Shopping Centre, Bury Old Road, Thomas Lock-up shops, offices and supermarket with 3.11.65 £390,000 Street, Tyson Street, Cheetham Hill car parking facilities (nearing completion).
Civic Centre Complex, Wythenshawe Public entertainment building comprising theatre, 4.5.66 £1,200,000 public hall, sports hall, library, swimming pool, restaurant and concourse.
Houghend Hall, Mauldeth Road West/Nell Lane 4-storey office block with car park area and 25.5.66 £140,000 Chorlton-cum-Hardy reconstruction and restoration of Houghend Hall.
Park House, Park Road, Gatley (a) 2-3/storey office block 7.9.66 (b) 3-storey office block £120,000 (c) Housing development
Thomas Street, West Gorton 2-storey research and development building and 5.10.66 £600,000 11-storey laboratory and office building.
Fairfield Street, Chancellor Lane, Dark Lane Multi-storey warehouse with ancillary offices and 4.1.67 £800,000 and Union Street, Ardwick showrooms.
Site bounded by Nicolas Road, Manchester Shops, offices, clinic, maisonettes, garages, and 1.2.67 -Road, Barlow Moor Road and Wilbraham Road, car park, after demolition of existing properties. Chorlton-cum-Hardy
43
Appendix 10
Buildings under construction, Higher Education Precinct at 31st March, 1967
Estimated
Development location Authority Cost
Arts Buildings Stage 3 Spa Street Manchester University £554,000
Mathematics Building Oxford Road/Wilton Street Manchester University £700,000
Chemistry Building Sackviile Street Institute of Science and Technology £1,800,000
Electrical Engineering and Mathematics and Social Sciences Buildings
London Road/Mancunian Way Institute of Science and Technology £1,231,000
National Computing Centre Stage 1 Oxford Road/Mancunian Way Ministry of Technology £150,000
St. Mary's Maternity Hospital York Place/Hathersage Road United Manchester Hospitals £2,500,000
St. Augustlnes Church and Deanery Grosvenor Square Salford R.C. Diocesan Trustees £140,000
£7,075,000
Cost of buildings under construction December 1963- March 1965=£6,182,000
44
Appendix 11
Buildings completed, Higher Education Precinct, April 1965-March 1967
Development
Williamson Building Stage 2. Pathology and Bacteriology
Williamson Building Stages 3 and 4, Botany and Zoology
Physics Building
Humanities Building Stage 2
Mobberley Building Stage 3
Economics and Social Sciences Building Extension
Simon Engineering Building Extension
Students Union and Residential Tower
Moffatt Building Extensions and conversion
Chemical Engineering Building Extensions
Civil Engineering Building Extension
College of Art Extensions
College of Commerce
Cost of buildings completed December 1963-March 1965=£2,200,000
Location
Oxford Road/Brunswick Street
Oxford Road/Brunswick Street
Upper Brook Street/Brunswick Street
Spa Street
Oxford Road/Burlington Street
Dover Street/Rumford Street
Brunswick Street
Altrincham Street
Altrlncham Street/London Road
Lower Albion Street/London Road
Sackville Street
Rosamund Street West/Boundary Street West
Aytoun Street
Authority
Manchester University
Manchester University
Manchester University
Manchester University
Manchester University
Manchester University
Manchester University
Institute of Science and Technology
Institute of Science and Technology
Institute of Science and Technology
Institute of Science and Technology
Manchester Corporation
Manchester Corporation
Estimated Cost
£383,500
£220,000
£1,150,000
£519,000
£50,000
£200,000
£228,000
£900,000
£97,000
£292,000
£119,000
£600,000
£560,000
£5,318,500
45
Appendix 12
Major Planning Approvals granted, Higher Education Precinct, March 1965-April 1967
Development
Arts Buildings Stage 3
Mathematics Building
*Economics and Social Sciences Building, Extension
*Civil Engineering Building Extension
Electrical Engineering and Mathematics and Social Sciences Building
Staff House Extension
National Computing Centre Stage I
St. Mary's Maternity Hospital
*St. Augustine's Church and Deanery
Northern College of Music
College of Adult Education
*Detailed Permission following an earlier outline
46
Location
Spa Street
Oxford Road/Wiiton Street
Dover Street/Rumford Street
Sackvllle Street
London Road/Mancunian Way
Campus, North of Mancunian Way
Oxford Road/Mancunian Way
York Place/Hathersage Road
Grosvenor Square
Oxford Road/Booth Street
Oxford Road/Cavendish Street
Authority
Manchester University
Manchester University
Manchester University
Institute of Science and Technology
Institute of Science and Technology
Institute of Science and Technology
Ministry of Technology
United Manchester Hospitals
Salford R.C. Diocesan Trustees
Manchester and Salford Corporations, Lancashire County Council, Cheshire County Council
Manchester Corporation
Estimated Cost
£554,000
£700,000
£200,000
£119,000
£1,231,000
£80,000
£150,000
£2,500,000
£140,000
£693,000
£311,000
£6,678,000
Appendix 13
Applications for permission to develop land 1st April 1965-31st March 1967
1.4.65-31.3.66 1.4.66-31.3.67
April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Total Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. M ar. Total Grand 1965--66 1966-67 Total
------- - -------- - - -- - - --- - --------------- - - ----------
Applications for private 159 124 169 133 145 184 118 134 207 98 150 117 1738 115 162 145 161 159 158 124 112 146 103 152 160 1697 3435 development approved
--------------------------------------------------
Applications for private 40 32 37 27 28 36 35 27 36 15 26 16 355 29 32 28 31 20 18 14 22 25 17 29 22 287 642 development disapproved
--------------------------------,_ ----------------
Applications to display
80 35 99 39 70 68 55 41 66 24 57 42 676 40 54 30 51 41 48 47 34 48 33 46 37 509 1185 advertisements approved
-----------------------------------------------------Applications to display adverti sements 7 2 11 4 6 10 9 4 16 2 10 6 87 8 22 13 9 11 8 2 3 4 2 4 2 88 175
disapproved
------------------------------------------------------Applications for Corporation ~evelopments 6 3 7 5 12 9 7 11 9 4 15 9 97 11 5 12 12 10 7 3 12 8 6 17 8 111 208
approved
-------------------------------------------------------
292 196 323 208 261 307 224 217 334 143 258 190 2953 203 275 228 264 241 239 190 183 231 161 248 229 2692 5645 ---------- = --= --= ----------·------------= ----------
47
Appendix 14
Analysis of Planning Applications Considered January 1965-December 1966
1965 1966
Use Total Approved Not Approved Total Approved Not Approved
1. Residential (a) Redevelopment 149 117 32 109 88 21 (b) New development - - - 3 3 -
2. Industrial 79 56 23 92 67 25 3. Offices 81 58 23 85 72 13 4. Shops and Restaurants 51 22 29 34 16 18 5. Petrol Stations and Repair Garages 59 17 42 27 12 15 6. Domestic Garages and Lock-up Garages 293 2n 16 244 223 21 7. Mineral Workings 1 - 1 1 1 -8. All other Classes of Building and other operations 836 746 90 766 709 57
Changes of Use 9. Residential Caravans - - - 1 1 -
10. Car Sales 8 6 2 10 6 4 11. Car Parks 22 18 4 39 35 4 12. To Offices 56 30 26 56 32 24 13. To Shops 38 28 10 46 33 13 14. To Industry 34 24 10 49 39 10 15. All other changes of use of land and buildings 440 366 74 435 372 63
Advertisements 16. Posters 114 76 38 115 60 55 17. Public Information Panels 18 18 - 19 18 1 18. Illuminated Signs 577 545 32 472 427 45 19. All other types of advertisements 41 35 6 38 29 9
2897 2439 458 2641 2243 398
The periods shown In this table are based on the returns supplied annually to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in accordance with Circular No. 52/61-Statistics of Planning Applications.
48
Appendix 15
Analysis of Planning Decisions 1963-1966
Total Approved Nol Approved
1963 1964 1965 1966 1963 1964 1965 1966 1963 1964 1965 1966
Residential 156 152 149 113 117 114 117 92 39 38 32 21
Commercial 371 368 316 467 259 234 179 337 112 134 137 130
Industrial 139 172 113 141 106 137 80 106 33 35 33 35
Miscellaneous 1741 1804 1569 1276 1607 1650 1389 1174 134 154 180 102
Advertisements 890 795 750 644 774 718 674 534 116 77 76 110
Total 3297 3291 2897 2641 2863 2853 2439 2243 434 438 458 398
-49
Appendix 16
Site Selection: 1st April 1965-31st March 1967 (see notes (a) and (b) below)
Committee No. of Projects Total Area (acres)
50
Children's 4
Education: (1) F.E. Colleges 1 (2) Primary Schools 13 (3) Special Schools 3
Health: (1) Nursing Services 8 (2) Mental Health Services 4 (3) Sanitary and General Services 7
Parks 1
Watch 1
Welfare Services i5
Total 57
Note (a) From the date of the setting up of the Department in December 1963 until March 31st 1965, sites were selected for 8 projects of the Education Committee (26.650 acres; £589,000), 2 of the Health Committee (1.000 acre; £107,000) 8 of the Welfare Services Committee (7.824 acres; £560,000), and 2 of other Committees (0.880·acres; £252,000). Note (b) At 31st March 1967, site requirements had been notified to the Department for some 200 projects. These would involve at least 550 acres of land and capital expenditure on buildings of over £16 million.
5.080
3.820 60.000 7.245
5.390 3.240 0.310
0.030
1.100
9.890
96.105
Approx. Capital Value of Bui/dings (£000)
340
397 1,263
308
380 330
41
25
65
704
3,853
" 1i
i I
j
'
Appendix 17
Miscellaneous Information
Planning Appeals
Advertisement Appeals
Certificate of Alternative Develop· ment (Section 17 of Land Compensation Act1961)
Land Charges
Purchase Notices (Section 129 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1962).
Total Lodged Allowed
1st April 1965-31st March 1966 36 1 1st April 1966-31st March 1967 34 1
Dismissed
1 2
Details of Appeals allowed by the Minister of Housing and Local Government 1965/66 Erection of 3-storey block of flats with garages, atter demolition of existing property. 1966/67 Single-storey car showroom and office. Details of Appeals Dismissed by the Minister of Housing and Local Government 1965/66 Erection of petrol filling station and repair garage.
Withdrawn
20 9
1966/67 Erection of 2-storey warehouse, single-storey office and showroom block and car park area.
In Abeyance
12 7
Awaiting Decision
2 4
Awaiting Inquiry
7
Recent Pending
4
Use of ground floor, part of first floor and outbuildings of house and surgery as offices, and conversion of part of first floor Into self-contained flat.
Total Lodged Dismissed Withdrawn Awaiting Decision
1st April 1965-31st March 1966 6 Nil 5
~1s~t~A-"--pr_il_1_9_66-3~_1s_t_M~ar_c_h_1_9_67~~~~-'-~~~~-6~~~~~'--~~~~N_il~~~~-'-~~~~-5~~~~-'-~~~~-~~~~~--'~~~~---'-1~~~~-
Details of Appeals allowed by the Minister of Housing and Local Government 1965/66 Nil 1966/67 Nil
Details of Appeals dismissed by the Minister of Housing and Local Government 1965/66 1. Bulletin board on gable wall of shop.
2. Six advertisement boards with fenced forecourt on vacant land. 3. Advertisement board on garage and storeroom. 4. Free-standing display case on forecourt of house. 5. Nine advertisement boards on cinema car park.
1966/67 1. Illuminated trade sky sign on roof of hotel.
1st April 1965-31st March 1966 1st April 1966-31 st March 1967
Purchase Notices, Local lnquiries-2
2. Illuminated advertisement board on rear elevation of shop. 3. Four illuminated commercial advertisements on offices. 4. Advertisement board on warehouse. 5. Bulletin board on shop.
1st April 1965-31st March 1966 1st April 1966-31st March 1967
1st April-31st March 1966 1st April-31st March 1967
Total Served
21 27
Accepted
16 14
18 21
10,741 10,658
Not Confirmed
3 1
Withdrawn
1 3
Awaiting Decision
1 9
Recent Pending
51
Designed by the City Planning Dept., and Printed by The William Morris Press Lid. , Wythenshawe, Manchester 22