Step Places and Southway Housing Trust are bringing forward proposals for a sustainable new development of 120 high quality new homes delivered as mixture of affordable, co-housing, private sale, and designated for independent young adults with autism. 

We will be retaining, enhancing, and improving existing natural parkland and existing routes through the site including a large retention of the Aspen Grove and the pathways within it to create a new community for Chorlton. 

The area of land known as Ryebank Fields is located between Ryebank Road in Chorlton, and Rye Bank Road in Firswood, Trafford. It sits adjacent to Longford Park.

Manchester Metropolitan University was established in 1970 as a Polytechnic and was owned and controlled by Manchester City Council. Ryebank was one of the sites used by the Polytechnic.

After the passing of the Education Reform Act 1988, Manchester Polytechnic became an independent statutory corporation and exempt charity known as Manchester Metropolitan University. It ceased to be owned and controlled by Manchester City Council. It then followed that on 1 April 1989, all Manchester City Council assets which had been used by Manchester Polytechnic, including Ryebank, were legally transferred from the Council to the University. It became the responsibility of the Trustees of Manchester Metropolitan University to manage all those assets, including Ryebank. 

In 2019, the University decided to sell the land to a suitable developer as part of its strategy to consolidate onto a single, sustainable, city campus. The University chose a partnership between Step Places and Southway Housing Trust to develop the site and deliver much needed new homes in Chorlton. 

Yes, the natural parkland and ecological habitats, as well as the informal pathways within, along the border with Longford Park, will be retained as is. 

Our previous plans suggested enhancing this area with the introduction of wetland areas, and other interventions. However following ecological surveys of the site, our plans have been revised so that the border with Longford Park is respected and the high value ecological habitat is retained.

To the North, the majority of the Aspen Grove will be retained, enhanced and managed. Established vegetation around the eastern and southern boundaries will also retain the mature character to the site and provide screening to the adjoining housing. Low interventions will be sought to enhance the landscape where possible whilst ensuring habitats are not lost.

Site investigations were last carried out by MMU in 2019 and one of the key takeaways from the initial consultation was a need to undertake more up to date surveys to inform our plans.

The invasive site investigations works were completed between Monday 1 July and Friday 25 July 2024 and the specialist teams continued to undertake monitoring throughout August and September. Further information on what was done during this time can be found here. The report on the condition of the land and the measures required for remediation will be outlined in a report that will be made public when submitted as part the planning application.  

Step Places has plenty of experience remediating sites like this and there are a number of measures that can be put in place to ensure the safety of the public. We will develop a clear remediation strategy that sets out how we will deal with any contamination effectively and efficiently, in line with government guidance, with minimal impact to the local community. 

The team has now undertaken a plethora of new surveys, which have fed into this revised scheme. The surveys focused on the following areas:
• Ecology
• Plants and Wildlife
• Trees
• Transport and Parking
• Utilities

The Nico Ditch is a long, linear earthwork dug in medieval times as a defensive fortification or potentially a boundary marker that stretches six miles across south Manchester.

Whilst the Nico Ditch is not a listed heritage asset, we want to recognise its pathway through the site by creating a central wetland area to help with on site drainage as well as creating valuable new habitats for wildlife to thrive.

There will be viewing points at the feature, with information available where people can stop and learn more about its history.

Our ambition is to include a number of measures to combat against this, with new wetland habitats, rain gardens, and rainwater harvesting. Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) will be included across the site, to help manage surface water more effectively and limit risk of flooding in the area. A Flood Risk Assessment will be completed and submitted with the planning application which will outline the risk and the measures to mitigate this.

We are also working with Trafford Council to align our plans with the ongoing drainage work in Longford Park. 

Yes, we will be delivering 35% of the homes at Ryebank as affordable, age friendly over 55s apartments. 

Rents would be set at the Manchester Living Rent, or lower. Southway aims to go even further by aspiring for these homes to be let at Social Rent which is lower than Manchester Living Rent. 

The plans for Ryebank help support Southway’s commitment to ‘right-sizing’ which helps free up larger homes for families.

The current design has a mixture of apartments and houses with various occupancy levels. The proposed split of homes is: 

• 42 age-friendly affordable apartments for over 55s, which will predominantly be one bedroom
• 8 one-bedroom apartments for young adults with autism
• 18 homes for the cohousing group including 6 houses and 12 apartments with communal facilities
• 52 private sale homes in a mixture of 3- and 4-bed properties

Following conversations with officers and local stakeholders, as well as considering the feedback received, we feel this mix is better representative of the diverse and inclusive community we want to deliver, welcoming residents of all ages, abilities and incomes. 

We have made a commitment to design a sustainable development, and have included space for community gardens and greens, allotments, and growing spaces, to ensure that it can be used to the benefit of those that live there and the local area. As part of that commitment, if the development is approved and goes ahead with access via Rye Bank Road, we have provided space within the site to re-locate the community garden. We are also looking to deliver a second community garden for Longford Road, close to the southern entrance of the site. 

The revised scheme has two car access points,  one from the south via Ryebank Road/Longford Road, and one from the north via Rye Bank Road.

There continues to be no connection between the two access roads to minimise the volume of vehicles accessing the development from each side, and to prevent through-traffic and rat-running. This design is in line with the development framework, which was signed off by executive members at Manchester City Council in 2019. 

The road layout for the site has changed slightly to minimise the number of trips generated on each side of the development. 

Feedback from the first consultation was concerns about the traffic generated from the development. 

As such, we have undertaken traffic and parking surveys to the north and south to better understand and manage the impact of the development. They show that the roads can take the capacity of the additional homes, even at peak hours.

With the changes to the different types of tenures – including the increase in the number of over 55 properties – we expect there will be a significant number of dwellings where car ownership will be lower, to help reduce car movements. However, to further minimise the impact, we are working with highways officers to develop traffic calming schemes on local roads. 

Outcomes of these surveys, and the expected impact the development would have, will be summarised in a Transport Assessment which will be submitted with the planning application.  

As part of the planning process, Step Places and Southway Housing Trust will work with the Council to understand the current provision of local services and how new homes in the area might affect them. If the Council feels it necessary, a contribution will be made to invest in local services such as healthcare as a condition of the planning application.

The second phase of consultation ran between Wednesday 9 October until Friday 1 November and has now concluded. Once the comments have been considered and incorporated into the designs where possible, the proposals will be submitted to the Council. We expect this to be early 2025.