A disused mill site in Gorton, Manchester has been brought back to life with 40 apartments provided for social rent for local residents.
Working with developer Mangrove Estates and contractors Watson Homes, Jigsaw Homes Group has transformed the former Chatsworth Mill on Williams Road into 24 one-bedroom and 16 two-bedroom apartments with parking and a small, landscaped courtyard.
A quarter of the homes have been allocated to residents who have ‘rightsized’, with additional priority given by Manchester City Council for those giving up larger family homes, enabling them to allocate that property to a family living in temporary accommodation.
One of those who has recently moved in is Louise Lawton, a teaching assistant, together with her daughter. She home swapped her three-bedroom house which she was renting from Jigsaw Homes, for a two-bedroom apartment at the new development.
She said: “I’d lived in my house for 19 years and brought my children up there, but when my son moved out and with my daughter studying at university, the house was just too big. I heard about the home-swap website and not long after, I was contacted by Jigsaw with the offer of one of the apartments because it meant I was freeing up an in-demand family home.
“When I saw the apartment it just felt right for what we needed. We are so lucky; all the neighbours are lovely and it’s really quiet, safe and secure. I feel so much happier here.”
Andrew Gwynne MP for Denton and Reddish viewed the scheme along with Manchester City Council ward members for Gorton and Abbey Hey Councillors Julie Reid and John Hughes. They were joined by Chief Executive of Jigsaw Homes Group Brian Moran and Director of Mangrove Estates Paul Sparkes.
Mr Gwynne said: “It is absolutely great to see this being built and bringing a derelict site back to life, with 40 flats for social rent already providing homes for people in such a great setting.”
Councillor Julie Reid added: “I am delighted to see these apartments made available for our residents, despite the shortage of social housing. These are changing people’s lives and we need more social housing built. I would like to thank everyone involved for their work and persistence in getting this built. This is great for Gorton and we need more of the same.”
Garnet Fazackerley, Operations Director of Development at Jigsaw Homes Group said: “We are really pleased to see the redevelopment of this brownfield site completed, as it has been many years in the making. We are already having a positive impact on the community and helping people into affordable housing. It was also lovely for the local councillors and MP to see how it has been transformed and how Jigsaw is working across Manchester to deliver much needed social housing.”
