Martyn Markland of Tenant Advisory Group has been retained as an independent expert by one of the last remaining objectors to the ‘Central Salford’ regeneration scheme. The redevelopment proposals will affect 50 acres of land and buildings in Salford. The development master plan envisages 850 new homes, 200,000 square metres of commercial office space, along with ancillary leisure and retail space.
The area around Salford Central railway station is the main focus of the proposals and includes a courtyard office development known as Ralli Courts. The property’s largest occupier is Ralli Solicitors who employ around 100 staff on site. Ralli’s partners are determined to fight the Compulsory Purchase Order which, if upheld by the Planning Inspector, would require the practice to relocate causing major disruption to staff and clients.
Martyn has been asked to review the proposed commercial element of the Central Salford scheme. In particular, he has been asked to judge the sustainability and appropriateness of the proposals in relation to the Manchester City Centre Office Market.
“The developer’s proposals appear ambitious in the current economic climate and will cause considerable disruption to Ralli Solicitors’ business. We shall be considering trends in occupational densities and local tenant demand to test the long term feasibility of the development plan. Fortunately, we already have a Supply Demand Forecasting Model for the Manchester Office Market and this will be one of several tools that we will be able to use to independently “stress test” the CPO proposals.”