Plans for 'over dominant' apartment block off Bury New Road thrown out by council

Plans for a five-storey block of flats in Manchester have been rejected by council officers after the development was described as 'overdominant'. The proposal put forward was to build 136 apartments on an empty plot of land off Bury New Road, less than a mile away from Manchester city centre.

An application was submitted by clothing company The Boi Group which is headquartered on neighbouring land – but planning permission was refused. It comes after plans for a six-storey building with 141 flats on this site were put forward by the same company in 2020, but withdrawn a few months later.

Town hall planners said that the latest scheme would be an 'incongruous' and 'overdominant' feature and would be 'out of character' with the area around it. They also raised concerns about the lack of parking spaces provided on site and criticised the developer for failing to provide all the information required.

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In a report published last week, the council said: "Officers have worked with the applicant in a positive and proactive manner based on seeking solutions to problems arising in relation to dealing with the planning application. Officers have communicated their concerns about this proposal to the applicant during the course of the planning application, but these concerns have not been overcome."

The planning application submitted to Manchester council last year proposed building a 'mixed use development', including 624 sqm of commercial space. The developer said that a fifth of the 136 new apartments would be affordable.

The site, previously occupied by terraced houses, is now vacant 'scrubland' which has been 'largely cleared of