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Sep 7, 20232 min read

Grade II-listed canalside warehouse to be transformed in one of Greater Manchester's most desirable

Building could be home to 32 'high quality' apartments

By Nick Jackson Local Democracy Reporter, Manchester Evening News



How the development at Bridge Works will eventually look. Image: Jeffrey Bell Architects


Plans to transform a Grade II-listed canalside warehouse into 32 'high quality' apartments in one of Greater Manchester’s most desirable residential areas have been tabled.

Developers want to convert Bridge Works on the Bridgewater Embankment in Altrincham into new homes and with it a five-storey detached building for commercial use. The applicants are Silverlane Developments (NW) Ltd and Graystone Developments Ltd, who describe themselves as ‘residential and mixed-use developers and investors’.


Proposals are for 32 homes, consisting of two studios apartments, 12 one- bed apartments, 14 two-bed apartments and four three-bed apartments. Associated parking, cycle space, refuse and plant space would be provided at ground level and externally, the design and access statement submitted by Jeffrey Bell Architects says.


The building is on the southern bank of the Bridgewater Canal and was originally known as the Broadheath Canal Warehouse. It was built in 1833 by the Bridgewater Navigation Company as part of a larger trans-shipment point for general goods and coal to and from the canal to horse and cart. The site adjoins Urban Splash’s Bundenberg HAUS Projekte residential development to the west and the Bridgewater Canal to the north.


A previous planning permission for 21 apartments, which expired in 2007, was not implemented ‘which indicates it was not a viable proposition’, says the statement.


It goes on: “Therefore, for any proposals to seriously move forward, bringing the listed building back into use, the proposal needs to be financially viable. The applicant can therefore only make this work financially with significantly more development at the site, and even then, it is marginal.


“The approach has therefore been to find a balance between providing a viable scheme and ensuring that the proposal is high quality in terms of design and respectful of the listed building so that its significance is not diminished and the relevant planning policy tests can be best met.”

The application will be decided at a forthcoming meeting of Trafford council’s planning and development management committee meeting.


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