They are the plots of land that form the 'final pieces of the jigsaw' in the regeneration of Ancoats – but no one knows who owns them.
Most of the land which is primed for development in the area has already been bought up. However, the owners of three small plots on the Phoenix Ironworks site remain unidentified, eight years after developer Manchester Life first started buying up land behind Beehive Mill, where 256 homes are set to be built.
The company - which is owned by Manchester council and Manchester City FC owner Sheikh Mansour - says that 'all avenues have been exhausted' in efforts to trace the freeholders of the land, which it already has 811-year leases for. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. Now, the decision has been taken to take control of the remaining plots, on the site bounded by Naval Street, Poland Street, Jersey Street and Radium Street, using a compulsory purchase order.
Councillors signed off the start of this process at a town hall meeting on Wednesday (June 28) where they were told why these powers would be used.