Partner: Stayley Developments
Masterplanner: Thorpe Architecture
Value: circa £250m
Time scale: 1998 – date
Further info: www.ashton-moss.com

In partnership with Stayley Developments, Muse is developing Ashton Moss adjacent to the M60 in East Manchester.

Located off junction 23 of the M60 on the western edge of Ashton under Lyne, this 81 hectare development site offers 1.4m square feet of high quality industrial, retail and leisure accommodation and is of strategic regional importance.

The Office & Commerce Park (Plot 1000) and Industrial Park (Plot 3000) have the benefit of planning for 1m sq ft of office, industrial and warehousing space. Occupiers secured to date include Office Depot 287,000 sq ft, Norbain 51,000 sq ft, Selco 40,000 sq ft and Car People 22,000 sq ft. In January 2007, the Greater Manchester Police Authority selected Ashton Moss as their preferred location for a new 100,000 sq ft headquarters. At the Manchester Road/ Ashton Northern Bypass intersection (Plot 1001), Travelodge have taken a 62 bedroom hotel and J W Lees operate a public house.

The Leisure Park (Plot 2000) comprises a 14 screen multiplex cinema operated by Cine UK, a Hollywood Bowl bowling alley and family entertainment centre, a Brewers Fayre public house along with a Frankie & Benny’s restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-thru, Nandos, Chiquitos and a Chinese restaurant. Terms have recently been agreed with De Vere Group to provide a 124 room ‘Village’ hotel and health & fitness centre.

In addition to the existing Snipe Retail Park on the opposite side of Manchester Road, Ashton Moss also benefits from a Sainsbury’s food store (developed on Plot 4000), comprising approximately 78,000 sq ft with a further 37,000 sq ft of non-food retail (known as Triangle Park). To the north of Ashton Office & Commercial Park, our partner, Stayley, is proposing the creation of a nine-hole golf course and driving range on land currently undergoing remediation.

Ashton Moss was formerly horticultural land with substantial deposits of peat at various depths across the site. In order to accommodate development the sites have been remediated by the removal of peat replaced with suitable engineered fill which has then been subjected to surcharging. With the exception of Plot 3000, the remaining plots within Ashton Moss have been remediated and are ready for development.

Comprising a total of 81 hectares (200 acres) the scheme adjoins the sub-regional centre of Ashton-under-Lyne, approximately six miles east of Manchester city centre and 14 miles north east of Manchester Airport. Muse provided the new Ashton Northern Bypass which has been designed and built to accommodate a new Metrolink line from Manchester City Centre to Ashton,. When completed, the Metrolink will provide public transport access to the site via a new station adjacent to the Park.

The masterplan utilises a cohesive approach to provide quality design and landscaping. It has evolved by incorporating within the scheme the final section of the M60 motorway, which bisects the site from the north to south and a new east/west dual carriageway (the Ashton Northern Bypass) which will include the Metrolink, bus, cycle and pedestrian routes.

The Ashton Northern Bypass

The Ashton Northern Bypass has been designed and built to accommodate a new Metrolink line from Manchester city centre to Ashton, and when completed the Metrolink will provide public transport access to the site via a new station adjacent to the Park.

The masterplan utilises a cohesive approach to provide quality design and landscaping. It has evolved by incorporating within the scheme the final section of the M60 motorway, which bisects the site from the north to south and a new east/west dual carriageway (the Ashton Northern Bypass) which will include the Metrolink, bus, cycle and pedestrian routes. The infrastructure creates four distinct zones. The bypass (2.2km long incorporating an integrated metro line, motorway bridge and two railway bridges) has been funded by land value.