Project Name:
Whitworth Street, Manchester

Type of Project:
Historic Context Appraisal, Assessment of Impact on Townscape, PPG15 Justification Statement and Historic Environment Chapter of EIA

Date:
November 2005/ February 2007

Client:
Mimas Properties Limited

Architect:
Ian Simpson Architects

Planner:
Drivers Jonas

Special Interest: Whitworth Street was opened in 1899, linking Deansgate Station with London Road Station and was named after Joseph Whitworth (1803-1887), an engineer who devised the first machine to produce a true plane surface. The Whitworth Street/Princess Street conservation area is uniquely Mancunian in character, its physical form being established by the wealth of fine Victorian and Edwardian buildings erected in the area between 1850 and 1920. The Whitworth Street Conservation Area reflects the historical importance of the textile industry in the city.

Scope of Professional Services:
Heritage Architecture Ltd were commissioned to undertake the following:

  • HISTORIC CONTEXT APPRAISAL: Heritage Architecture Ltd undertook research to assess the development of the Whitworth Street site and its historic context, including the preparation of a map sequence of earlier built form. An assessment of the character of the Whitworth Street/Princess Street Conservation Area and the Tentative World Heritage Site was also undertaken.

  • ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT ON TOWNSCAPE: Heritage Architecture Ltd assessed the likely visual impact of the proposed development on the townscape with commentary on the potential or actual effects of the proposal on listed buildings and their settings; the Conservation Area; and the Tentative World Heritage Site. The assessment included consideration of mitigation measures, residual impact and cumulative/interactive effects.

  • PPG15 JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT [EIA]: The Historic Environment Chapter of the Environmental Impact Assessment was formulated to accompany an application for planning permission involving a revised design; addressing the potential visual impact of the amended application in relation to the settings of listed buildings, the Conservation Area and the Tentative World Heritage Site.