The Ancoats car park that will be very different from the rest

Work has started to build the UK's first 'mobility hub' – a multi-storey car park offering electric vehicle chargers, car share clubs and cycle hire. The scheme promises to help Ancoats be a place where people are prioritised over cars.

As well as featuring 150 secure bike parking spaces, the new hub would offer changing facilities for cyclists. Bikes would also be available to hire from the eight-storey structure which is being built on a cleared site off Poland Street.

Of the 406 car parking spaces which would be available for residents and visitors, 102 would be fitted with electric vehicle charging points with the potential to increase this number in the future. There will also be up to 30 spaces for car share club schemes which reduce the need to own a vehicle.

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The hope is that the hub will mean fewer cars are parked on streets in the area and less parking will be needed at future development sites. There will also be a parcel delivery point serving surrounding residential buildings where people can collect their parcels directly or get them delivered by small electric vans and cargo bikes, cutting the number of delivery vehicles in the neighbourhood.

More than 1,500 sqm of solar panels would be installed on the rooftop of the building which would feature a 400 sqm green wall and a 900 sqm planted façade. There will also be space for a new café as well as a commercial unit.

It comes as the third phase of regeneration of the neighbourhood located on the edge of Manchester city centre gets under way. The £33m plan includes work to rejuvenate Ancoats Green, making the park a 'focal point' for the area.

The investment, which is mostly being