Salford MP objects to plans for 3,300 homes at Regent Retail Park

The Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey has publicly objected to the plans to knock down most of Regent Retail Park to build 3,300 homes. 

“These plans won’t help tackle the urgent need for social and affordable housing, won’t help with the loss of shops, existing employment and parking, and will drastically impact Salford’s skyline,” she said.

The developer, Henley Investments, want to build a gigantic 70+ storey skyscraper that could tower over Salford in a £1 billion development scheme for Regent Retail Park.

The regeneration scheme will see the construction of 3,300 homes across 10 buildings; this includes the UK’s tallest tower outside London.

Ms Long-Bailey delivered a letter to Salford City Council accusing Henley of failing to commit to the area’s local plan, which requires developments of this size to provide at least 20 per cent affordable homes.

The Member of Parliament said: “The current proposals fail to meet the requirements set out in the local plan, and potentially exacerbates the housing crisis by excluding lower-income residents from benefiting from new developments.

“The 3,300 residential dwellings the application proposes are instead to be split, with half for market sale, and half for buy to rent, completely disregarding the requirements in the local plan.”

In the letter she posted on August 1, Ms Long-Bailey also stated that the proposed 600 parking spaces for this site is not enough for a development of this scale.

Ms Long-Bailey further drew attention to the possible knock-on effect of losing shops. Henley wants to knock down the existing 116,000 sq ft of big box retail including TK Maxx, Home Bargains, and Boots.

The Salford MP said: “The current retail units play a vital role in the local economy, offering employment to a significant number of people and providing essential services to the community.

“The loss of these retail spaces could have a detrimental impact on the local economy, displacing businesses and workers.”

The developer claims the plan is to re-provide much of what will be lost as part of the site’s regeneration. Warwick Hunter, the managing director of development at Henley, claimed that the development would be “just as much for existing residents as the new arrivals who will call it home.”

However, according Ms Long-Bailey, the application “does not demonstrate that any new commercial spaces provide equal or greater employment opportunities to mitigate this loss.”