Last orders for eyesore pub in Manchester

A derelict former pub and two empty shops are being demolished as regeneration work in North Manchester continues.

The Kestrel pub and neighbouring shops in Hugo Street, Moston, were purchased by Manchester City Council after laying vacant for a number of years.

Redrow Homes is working with Manchester City Council to provide affordable housing in the area and plans to develop the site to provide additional homes as part of the ongoing regeneration project.

Christine Aitken, sales director for Redrow Homes (Lancashire) said: “The former pub was a blot on the landscape and was detracting from the work we are doing with the Council to improve the area. The demolition marks another major milestone in the regeneration of the neighbourhood and, subject to planning permission, will enable us to build up to 10 more houses.”

The demolition is expected to take four weeks to complete.

The Council is currently working on a masterplan for the wider Moston Lane area, which will guide further improvements.

Councillor Paul Andrews, Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “Residents’ lives have been blighted by this site for years and the fact it is now being demolished, to be replaced by new housing, is a major step forward for the area.”

The cost of purchasing the pub site was met through the Homes and Communities Agency’s new ‘Growth Points’ fund, which is being managed by the Manchester-Salford Housing Market Renewal pathfinder, with Redrow funding demolition work.

In total some 400 homes are to be built by Redrow in the Moston and Harpurhey area. Two phases are currently underway, Hanson Gardens, which offers two and three-bedroom homes, and Kenyon Gardens, off Kenyon Lane, which has some larger three and four-bedroom family homes.

As each new phase launches, people already living in Moston and Harpurhey wards are given early priority to purchase and Redrow has also signed up to a City Council initiative to ensure that local residents are employed in the construction phase.

An equity scheme administered by the Council is helping make the properties more affordable by enabling buyers to defer paying up to 25% of the price, interest free for 10 years.

It means that a two-bedroom home, on the market at £104,995, could be purchased for an initial outlay of £78,746.

For more information visit the development or log on to: redrow.co.uk