NEW 27-STOREY TOWER BLOCK IN SALFORD WILL HOUSE HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS

A councillor has voiced ‘disappointment’ that a 27-storey block on the site of the former McDonald’s regional head office in Salford will be for students rather than ‘desperately needed’ social housing. 

Coun John Warmisham was speaking as the plan for the block on land at Cross Lane in his Pendleton and Charlestown ward was approved by the city’s planning and transportation regulatory panel.

He told colleagues: “I’m disappointed that this isn’t for social or affordable housing, because that’s what’s reall desperately needed in the area.”

But he said he was supportive of the Salford Crescent Development Framework in which the development sits.

“I also understand totally the desperate need for student accommodation in the city,” he said. “So I welcome this. There’s a lot of work gone into it. It’s not the usual monstrosity of a box that they often throw up.”

The developer Q Developments will also contribute £1m for ‘specific projects in the area as part of a Section 106 agreement.

The building will comprise of two blocks – a 19-storey adjoined ‘shoulder’ and a main, 27-storey tower – with a total of 538 bed spaces provided.

Pedestrians will gain access from Cross Lane, with a new landscaped plaza leading from the footway and a pelican crossing. Q says the tower has been designed with a ‘clear and simple aesthetic’.

Coun Warmisham also said he was worried about how the block would be policed, citing crime issues in his ward. He also said that the development might take pressure off Salford where numerous houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) had sprung up, so that they could be returned to be used for families.

Chair of the panel Coun Phil Cusack said the block was ‘much needed’ in Salford, adding: “I would like to encourage the developer to discuss the management of the property with local councillors as well as how the £1million Secion 106 cash would be spent.