£1bn Northern Gateway development will comprise 10,000 new homes over 300 acres north of Victoria Station

Manchester City Council has confirmed they will work with the Hong Kong-based Far East Consortium (FEC) over the next decade to build 10,000 new homes on 300 acres of land north of Victoria Station.

Dubbed the ‘Northern Gateway’, council leader Sir Richard Leese said the £1bn scheme was “arguably the biggest residential opportunity for transformational change in the city that we have seen yet.”

Taking in the neighbourhoods of New Cross, Lower Irk Valley and Collyhurst, the idea is to create ‘a series of distinct yet clearly connected communities making the most of the area’s natural resources, including the River Irk and its location close to the city centre’.

170427 Richard Leese David Chui Northern Gateway
FEC chairman David Chiu with Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese Manchester Place

“This investment partnership will allow the city core to expand and provide the right mix of high quality housing in well planned new areas to support our continued strong economic growth,” said Leese.

“The Northern Gateway area has the potential to be a new type of neighbourhood unlike any other in the city and we are very impressed with the understanding and shared vision that FEC bring to the partnership.”

FEC chairman, David Chiu, said: “Manchester City Council market data shows there will be very strong demand for new homes for a great many years to come... this project is a top priority for FEC in the UK.”

FEC is already underway with phase one of the Northern Gateway scheme, with plans to build 754 new homes around Angel Meadow Park expected to be submitted shortly.

In January, as part of their housing affordability framework, the council announced plans to build 2000 affordable new homes each year in order to tackle the city's growing population and offset the high number of premium apartments going up in the city centre.