{"id":137176,"date":"2025-05-27T23:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T23:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/137176\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T23:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T23:43:13","slug":"they-fear-it-could-collapse-but-the-regeneration-of-a-victorian-city-centre-mill-is-being-delayed-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/137176\/","title":{"rendered":"They fear it could collapse, but the regeneration of a Victorian city centre mill is being delayed AGAIN"},"content":{"rendered":"

The firm has denied changes are for profitability reasons<\/p>\n

The regeneration of a Victorian city centre mill is being delayed AGAIN as developers have changed its appearance after winning planning permission.<\/p>\n

Hotspur Press, also known as Medlock Mill, is derelict after shutting down as a printing press in 1996.<\/p>\n

It is feared the Victorian brickwork and \u2018iconic\u2019 Percy Brothers signage could collapse as redevelopment has been delayed for years.<\/p>\n

Initial plans to convert it into a 171-home, 28-storey apartment block fell through in 2020, with a new firm, Manner, taking the historic structure on.<\/p>\n

Their plans to build a 36-storey student tower and keep the original facade was given planning permission in May 2024 \u2014 but a year on, work hasn\u2019t started yet.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the project was \u2018significantly\u2019 delayed by \u2018an anonymous application to have the building listed\u2019, which would have prevented the revamp going ahead as planned. Manner launched a campaign to \u2018save\u2019 the mill by blocking the listing, claiming the delay would \u2018potentially condemn the future of this wonderful building and its history\u2019.<\/p>\n

The government dismissed the bid in January. But building work still hasn\u2019t started.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the developer has changed the appearance of the external tower TWICE since Manchester council awarded planning permission for the original plans.<\/p>\n

(Image: Manner)<\/p>\n

The new student tower was initially clad in redbrick panels, but this was changed earlier this year to be anodised metal, appearing to be grey-silver. Last week, Manner revised its appearance to be bronze.<\/p>\n

The firm has repeatedly denied the change was made to make more profit, and the LDRS understands the new metal finish will cost more than the brick cladding, but it is not known if this is due to inflation from last year to 2025.<\/p>\n

Architect Stephen Hodder said the \u2018bronze finish will accentuate the depth and richness of the [historic] fa\u00e7ade while still allowing a visual separation\u2019 between old and new.<\/p>\n

The new bronze cladding Manner has unveiled(Image: Manner)<\/p>\n

He went on: \u201cThis well considered design will ensure that The Hotspur Press speaks to the way that the Manchester skyline is evolving. Like The Hotspur Press there are some fantastic examples of buildings where the differentiation between old and new structures is illustrated \u2013 here in Manchester and further afield.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manner boss Richard James added: \u201cThrough the consultation process we wanted to listen and take on board feedback to ensure we bring forward a proposal for The Hotspur Press that local people and the city can enjoy for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The redesigned proposals will now be submitted to Manchester council, meaning planning officers will pore over the scheme again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The firm has denied changes are for profitability reasons The regeneration of a Victorian city centre mill is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,8086,8828,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-137176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-city-centre","13":"tag-manchester-council","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114582454925070159","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}