Salford’s first ‘co-living’ tower has been given the green light – but a councillor warned “it’s more George Orwell than living.”
Developer PL North Bridge got permission from Salford City Council today to build a 42-storey tower block on Gorton Street in the city centre.
It comes with 568 studio apartments with a kitchenette, bedspace, and bathroom, each around 21 to 32 square metres in size.
The building is designed with a games room and sky bar, along with a concierge, cafe, gym and cinema room – but none of the flats are classed as ‘affordable.’
Coun Bob Clarke of Boothstown said the application left him “lost for words.”
He questioned how hundreds of residents would be able to live in the block without washing machines in their rooms, having to use shared facilities.
Mr Clarke said: “We are saying 568 people are going to need to do their washing and there are no washing machines in their rooms.
“There’s no way people should be living in a nice shoebox. That’s not living, that’s more George Orwell 1984. I don’t know where we are going as a society, there’s nothing attractive about that.
“Surely to God people can have a washing machine where they live?”
The developer’s representatives said tenants will be able to use an app to check when shared laundry facilities are available to use.
Mr Clarke’s Conservative colleague Coun Garrido also criticised the scheme, warning that it would not help to address the city’s housing problems.
He added: “I don’t think we are going to attract five hundred people from Salford to this, it will attract people from outside the area. That’s a real lost opportunity.
“I think rent would be well in excess of £1,000 a month, I think it’s unlikely it would be anything less, maybe more around £1,500 a month.
“We should be making it very clear to developers the type of accommodation we need in Salford.”
Based in the Greengate area of the city, the complex aims to offer an alternative and more social way of living compared to traditional apartment blocks.
Bosses behind the scheme say it is based on co-living concepts in cities such as New York and Berlin, and that the idea is becoming increasingly popular in the UK.
They said it offers ‘privacy within a communal setting with a variety of social spaces’ and is all-inclusive with bills – apart from access to the building’s spa facility which incurs an optional £30 charge each month to gain access.
Labour members of Salford’s planning committee urged their colleagues to take stock of how lifestyles are changing.
Coun Mike McCusker, Salford’s planning chief, said: “It’s a first for Salford, I’m not the demographic they are aiming for but it’s an interesting way of living, moving from halls of residence type living to greater independence.
“It sits well within the masterplan of the Greengate area which aims to be more Brooklyn than Manhattan, it maintains access along the river Irwell for the public – this is a more Brooklyn than Manhattan approach.”
Coun John Warmisham added: “Young people want to live differently, to have something like this in Salford where like-minded people can come together and share ideas. I think it’s an exciting prospect and I’ll be supporting it.”
The application was approved with 10 votes in favour and two against.
Once built, the co-living tower will be based next to the city’s railway arches, which could be developed into a space for bars and shops subject to permission from a separate planning application submitted to Salford council.
