In the past three decades, Manchester has become a dynamic, globally connected city. Holt Townn is fundamental to realising this growth trajectory, delivering up to 4,500 new homes to create a major new neighbourhood on the city centre’s edge.
A strategic growth opportunity
Situated along the Medlock Valley, between the bustling areas of Ancoats and New Islington and the dynamic zones of Sportcity and the Etihad Campus, Holt Town is key to bridging the gap between these significant growth areas.
With Metrolink services already established at the start, middle, and end of Holt Town, including stops at New Islington, Holt Town, and Etihad Campus, this area is well-positioned to enhance connectivity and support continued expansion in a rapid and deliverable fashion; world class infrastructure
A pioneering new neighbourhood
The regeneration of Holt Town represents a rare opportunity to create a new community within the city, aiming to cultivate a diverse neighbourhood that welcomes people from all walks of life.
It offers homes close to the economic opportunities of the City Centre, Sportcity, and the Etihad Campus, laying the foundations for future living and working to coexist seamlessly.
The new neighbourhood at Holt Town could include:
Circa 4,500 new homes, setting a new standard for urban living.
20% affordable homes, including social housing, providing accessibility for all.
A mix of tenure, accessibility, and price, supporting a mixed-income and inclusive community.
A variety of housing types and density approaches, including houses, terraces, apartments, and duplexes, catering to diverse needs and lifestyles.
Holt Town is vibrant, ambitious, and poised for future opportunities. It can become a model for urban development, fostering a sustainable community that pioneers new ways of living and working in harmony with the community, nature and heritage.
Mobility Mill
Play Link
Terraces
Confluence Park
Holt Town, Wood Town
Studio Egret West's proposals champion a vision of Holt Town as a Woodland Town, a new, vibrant urban district that embraces innovative approaches to shaping a neighbourhood that is diverse, inclusive, future-facing, and sets a pioneering benchmark for urban growth in Manchester.
The Holt Town vision is underpinned by the site analysis and engagement process and has informed the aspiration to ‘regrow the community like a woodland.’ Inspired by the vertical layers of the woodland anatomy, the woodland analogy captures the layered approach to the framework, from roots to canopy and beyond and frames the overarching design principles.
Emergent
Holt Town is aiming for an appropriate density and scale. Higher density developments will be sensitively placed in areas where a greater density of accommodation could lead to a more generous contribution to public realm and/or the renewal of heritage assets.
Canopy
A creative approach to roofscapes that embraces the full potential for amenity, energy production and rainwater management. Holt Town will celebrate its rooflines, creating views and vistas through careful distribution of scale, density and built form.
Understorey
A low-carbon town which includes a diverse range of lower-rise homes. It will promote economic growth with homes of varied tenure and lower density family homes, supported by social infrastructure.
Ground
Holt Town will create sustainable public spaces with enhanced biodiversity and infrastructure. It will promote low car usage, prioritise pedestrians, and integrate community and culture.
Roots
Holt Town’s regeneration will reconnect this part of Manchester, bridging key areas. It will embed social value, retain heritage assets where possible, and aim to meet net zero targets.
Holt Town, Sponge Town
Holt Town is set to be an exemplar low-carbon, sustainable neighbourhood with climate resilience and nature embedded in its design, contributing to the City’s net zero carbon targets set out in the Manchester Climate Change Framework.
- The creation of at least 15 acres of new and enhanced public space.
- A sustainable approach to street design that integrates cutting-edge water capture features.
- Enhancements to the canal and river setting, and biodiversity.
- Typologies of green spaces that promote the retention of tree groupings wherever possible.
- Sustainable building materials and material reuse and circularity in the landscape and built environment.
- Innovative approaches to home delivery, including co-housing, self and custom build,
to support eco-conscious and affordable housing models.
A ‘Sponge City’ approach to Holt Town will use sustainable urban form and innovative water management techniques that mimic natural hydrological processes and help mitigate the flood risk, while also complementing and enhancing the quality of ecological habitats.
The process of creating the NDF has engaged a wide variety of landowners and occupiers, including the City Council, in a highly collaborative process. This engagement has been crucial in forming a master plan that reflects the ambitions and views of all stakeholders, fostering a sense of shared ownership and commitment to the project's success.
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