NEW WOMEN’S CENTRE AND NINE-STORY BLOCK OF AFFORDABLE FLATS

A new women’s centre on the site of a former facility looks to be the cards after councillors agreed a deal to lease the site to the developer – for nothing.

Housing group ForViva has been given a 250-year lease for the site of the former St Mary’s Centre in Eccles where it will put up a nine-storey block including 35 affordable apartments.

But the ground floor will be ‘surrendered’ back to the city council which is granting a 25-year lease to the Salford Foundation, which ran the St Mary’s Centre until 2020.

The one-storey building was closed because of the condition of the building and in November 2021 it was demolished.

Services run by the foundation are currently provided at Foundation House in Salford.

Councillors at a property/regeneration briefing approved the deal without comment yesterday before going into closed session to discuss the financial implications.

But a report said the foundation will pay a ‘peppercorn rent’ for the facility, meaning it will pay a very small or nominal amount of cash for its use.

Meanwhile, ForViva has submitted a planning application for the development to the city council, yet to be determined.

The report said the site was ‘surplus to requirements’.

It said ‘the original thrust’ of ForViva’s involvement in St Mary’s was on the basis it could deliver three things – new premises for Salford Foundation, new social housing on the site, and a capital receipt for Salford city council.

However, ForViva confirmed that, ‘based on financial modelling’, the only way it could achieve its objectives was with ‘nil payment to Salford city council’.

The report also said:

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“The main hurdle associated with the proposal has been planning and creating a scheme that meets planning policy, in line with the council’s requirements, whilst retaining the density and unique design requirements of Salford Foundations occupation of the ground floor.”

To ensure all demands could be accommodated the site boundary has been extended to incorporate additional land adjoining an air monitoring station on St Mary’s Road.

Part of this additional land, extending to 33.5 square metres, is currently open to the public. There have been no objections to the disposal of the land.