A huge new town is set to be built in Manchester, featuring a huge £250 million lido, the first planned in the city for decades.
Holt Town's neighbourhood is undergoing major transformation plans to become a woodland town, with the outdoor swimming pool integral to the proposals. At the end of last month, the City Council’s executive approved ambitious plans for a new lido as part of a larger redevelopment project to transform Holt Town. The Holt Town lido would be the first lido in Manchester since the 1980s.
For decades, Manchester has been notably deprived of open-air swimming pools, with beloved spaces like The Riviera in Norden and The Galleon in East Didsbury shut down. The closures were a result of rising maintenance costs and the temperamental Manchester seeing lidos fall to poor use.
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Holt Town is already approved for a massive project to develop 74 acres of currently underused land which will see the town rebuilt as a “new woodland town.” The lido will be a key feature of the town redevelopment, built on Cyrus Street which is currently an overgrown backroad known as one of the most fly-tipped hotspots in east Manchester. According to Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, Cyrus Street’s transformation from an ugly dump to a beautiful swimming destination has “got people excited.” Cllr Craig confirms that the new lido is a key part of Holt Town’s regeneration story.
Led by the innovative architecture firm, Studio Egret West, a multi-disciplinary team has been formed to oversee the Holt Town Neighbourhood Development Framework (NDF). Studio Egret West is working alongside Manchester City Council, Homes England and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on the plan to transform wasted land into a “sustainable, digitally driven new town within a city.”
The Holt Town redevelopment project will encourage social, affordable housing (at least 20%) with the construction of 4,500 homes as well as 15-acres of green space, playgrounds, commercial areas and a proposal for a new river park. The local public and business owners were consulted between August and September last year to develop play space ideas and provide input on the redevelopment.
Currently these are the key aspects of the Holt Town NDF:
A new low-carbon neighbourhood of around 4,500 homes across a range of building types, including low-rise town houses and some taller residential buildings
A mixed-use area that will deliver 30,000 square feet of commercial space
The creation of 15 acres of green space including enhancements to the river and canal settings, a holistic approach to urban drainage and improvements to a new river park – known as a “Confluence Park”.
Leisure and cultural uses including a flexible Cultural Hub and Lido on the site of the historic Holt Town reservoir
Mobility Mill with centralised parking for the neighbourhood, wrapped with affordable workspace and ground floor neighbourhood services
Creation of a digitally enabled neighbourhood that includes the integration of smart technical infrastructure to enable the delivery of local digital solutions and services
Establishment of an urban layout that prioritises pedestrian and cycle movements
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In addition to the grand plans of the Holt Town NDF, there are a few other exciting developments arriving in Manchester soon, including a new Soho House office in the former Granada Studios (set to open this year) and the £250 million wellness resort, Therme Manchester which will open in 2027.
