St. John’s Quarter, Manchester

St. John’s Quarter represents a site of 10 hectares at the eastern portion of the city bounded by the River Irwell.

The area was named after St. John’s Church which was founded by a wealthy banker Lord Byron who also founded the first Quay (hence Quay Street) on the River Irwell.

The masterplan of the site developed by SimpsonHaugh Architects envisages a £1bn mixed use development, which will see offices, homes, retail and the “Factory” being delivered amidst the highest quality public realm, thus creating an exciting new quarter for enterprise, culture and living.

RoC Consulting were retained by Allied London to provide technical support to the St. John’s technical Masterplan.

A suite of utilities and services surveys was commissioned and following assessment of the data gathered critical infrastructure, and industrial heritage was identified. Certain elements of key infrastructure needed to be retained and maintained to allow phasing of development, which recognised existing uses, and income streams.

This initial appraisal, developed with the design team and Deloitte Planning Consultants, informed initial wider planning options. Of key importance was an understanding of site construction logistics where RoC Consulting made significant input.

Whilst the conclusion of all of these studies was the submission of a planning application we used the data gathered to prepare a “comprehensive” technical constraints plan for the entire site. This included the Flood Risk Assessment, negotiation of a free outfall discharge into the River Irwell and geo-environmental desk top studies. Thus gaining maximum value from the Planning Submission studies.

The technical constraints report, included plot specific constraint plans and encompassed archaeology and heritage considerations, drainage strategy, ground conditions, foundation solutions, utility diversions and a synopsis on further surveys/ investigations that would be required.

The scale of the proposed development, the interdependency of plot and servicing development through phasing required a systematic approach to information gathering and documentation. Each plot presents its own challenges including the structural assessment of the Salford Junction Canal, a heritage asset, crossing the site at depth.

The data gathered was converted into a 3D revit model to facilitate services coordination, and briefing packs were produced for each plot to inform plot designers of constraints and mitigation strategies.