Plans approved for next phase of Salford’s Crescent
Plans have been approved for the next phase of Salford Crescent's innovation masterplan. Plans have also been submitted for improved infrastructure a third platform at Salford Crescent railway station.
Salford City Council has approved plans to bring forward Crescent Innovation, part of the wider £2.5bn, 252-acre Crescent Salford masterplan.
The Crescent Innovation scheme will comprise of 933 new homes, 1.7m sq ft of new commercial innovation, academic, and research floorspace.
It also includes what the developers call “active ground-floor space”, a new multi-model transport hub, and vast areas of green space.
Crescent Innovation is being brought forward by the Crescent partnership, comprised of Salford City Council, the University of Salford, and English Cities Fund (ECF) – a joint venture between Homes England, Legal & General and Muse. The concept is to promote economic growth by investing in links between academia and business. The designer is Make Architects.
Spanning 29 acres between Broughton Road East and University Road, Crescent Innovation will be linked to the wider masterplan by Salford Rise – a five-acre podium that will span Frederick Road.
The go-ahead for Crescent Innovation follows the completion of three university facilities – the North of England Robotics Innovation Centre, the Science, Engineering, and Environment (SEE) building, and Energy House 2.0.
Salford city mayor Paul Dennett said: “With our Crescent partners – ECF and University of Salford – we are pushing ahead with our vision to create world-class research and development facilities that local people and businesses can benefit from. The Crescent Innovation proposals are a key element of the wider vision for the Crescent area and will change the face of the area through the creation of a high-quality innovation environment, where people can achieve their full potential.”
University of Salford vice-chancellor Nic Beech added: “This is a major milestone in our shared mission to transform Salford into a global hub for innovation and groundbreaking research.”
Alongside the redevelopment of Salford Crescent, new plans have been submitted to build a third platform at Salford Crescent train station.
Network Rail submitted the plans to build on one of the ‘busiest stations in Greater Manchester’ in hopes of reducing overcrowding on existing platforms.
The proposed platform could also reduce instances of multiple trains arriving at the same time and having to wait.
The new platform will service the Up Bolton line and is designed to allow space for people to stand for 6 x 24m long carriage trains.
Passenger access to the new third platform will be via a new staircase and lift next to the station’s ticket hall, the report to Salford City Council said.
Furthermore, a canopy will be provided for the new platform as well as new staffing facilities at platform level. A new external gate line could also be introduced as part of the scheme to make up for the increased capacity.
Salford Crescent train station first opened in 1987 and is located near the University of Salford, between the Peel Park and Frederick Road Campus.
Network Rail are a ‘public sector arm’s length body’ of the Department for Transport, they retain permission to manage Britain’s railway infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland within regulatory and control frameworks. They currently manage 20 of the country’s largest stations, while all the rest – over 2,500 – are run by the train operating companies.
To view the planning application on Salford City Council’s planning portal, click here.