Manor Property Group

History

The company has been linked to a number of stalled developments in Kingston upon Hull relating to prominent buildings that have been long-term derelict. These include the former Co-operative department store building (which was later home to British Home Stores, although 75 per cent of the building remained unoccupied during this time) in Bond Street, the former Heaven and Hell nightclub in Anne Street, the former Lord Line trawler company offices at St Andrew's Dock, west of the city, and the former Rank Hovis Mill (also known as the Clarence Flour Mills) in St Peter Street. Despite ambitious schemes being proposed by the company to redevelop all of the aforementioned sites, very little work has been carried out to date. In December 2012, it was reported that the company owned a number of empty landmark buildings in the city which have yet to be developed. In January 2014, it was reported that Manor Property Limited had gone into administration, although the company claimed that it was 'business as usual'.

Despite this, the company were involved in successfully building and completing the BBC's Yorkshire and Lincolnshire television and radio studios. This was following the corporation's 'Project Hull' announcement in October 2001, which would see them invest and eventually become established in the city. The new studio complex was unveiled by Manor Property Group at Queen's Court in Queen's Gardens, Hull in 2005, which is now home to the BBC's local news and radio service Look North and Radio Humberside respectively.

Former Co-operative building on Bond Street

The Co-operative department store building in Bond Street was built from around 1959 to 1961 as a result of post-World War II rebuilding, as Kingston upon Hull had suffered heavy bombing during the Second World War that caused widespread damage and the obliteration of many of the city's buildings. The building was to be headquarters for the city's branch of the Co-operative Group. The front of the building contains a large Italian glass mosaic mural immortalising the Hull fishing fleet, which was designed by Alan Boyson in 1963. The face of the mural, which is fixed to a 66 ft by 64 ft concrete screen, was composed of 4,224 foot square slabs each made up of 225 tiny glass cubes. A similar mural by Boyson was also produced inside the building and was recently rediscovered in July 2011 after a false wall hiding the mural was removed. The building was host to the 'Skyline Ballroom', a ballroom that would later become the 'Romeo's & Juliet's' nightclub, the latter opening in around 1978 and closing in November 1991. With the Co-operative Group's market share and profitability continuing to decline during the 1970s and 1980s, the company vacated the premises in around 1984 and the building would later play host to an indoor market during the 1990s. Later on, part of the building would house a branch of the department store British Home Stores, albeit with around 75 per cent of the building being unoccupied. Following the retailer's collapse in May 2016, the Hull store also closed. This resulted in the building becoming completely unoccupied for the first time in its history.

It is unclear when Manor Property Group first owned the building, however a planning application for its redevelopment was submitted in March 2005 which was to form part of the company's ambitious 'Manor Point' project. Plans included the full restoration of the original building which would incorporate a call centre, as well as the incorporation of a new glazed canopy to replace the current concrete one. Additional bay windows would also be added, highlighting the original stonework. Despite planning approval being given for the project, little, if any work, has been carried out on the building since that time. In January 2016, the building, alongside the former Heaven and Hell nightclub in Anne Street, were put up for sale. At the same time company director Philip Akrill wrote on his Twitter account, referencing the Hull City Council Twitter account in the process, that the company was now 'selling up'. Akrill further added 'you win', possibly in response to the Hull City Council's enforcement action. Following this, the leader of the Hull City Council Councillor Stephen Brady stated that the council 'have no axe to grind with Manor Property Group... We want developers to put in planning applications and get the work done, not let buildings remain empty for ten or 20 years'.

Former Rank Hovis/Clarence Mill on St. Peter Street

Originally opened as the Clarence Mill in around 1952, the large-scale flour factory would later be renamed the Rank Hovis Mill, after the Rank Hovis McDougall company. Clarence Mills was Joseph Rank's second purpose-built roller mill in the city, but was the first mill purposely designed to serve modern flour-milling methods. It was constructed beside the dock to allow for imported grain to arrive directly from ship. Later warehouse additions were built throughout the 1950s and 1960s around a central yard area, which could also be accessed from St Peter Street. Following its closure in 2005, Manor Property Group acquired the building and pledged to clear the site, building a Radisson Blu hotel in its place with accommodation for 168 rooms. This was to form part of an ambitious plan entitled 'Manor Hotel' which was to include a 23 storey tower, 674 student homes and a public plaza with five restaurants. A large casino had also been proposed for the site, with Apollo Resorts and Leisure Ltd being given permission by Manor Property Group to develop such a facility. With planning permission being submitted in September 2007 it was initially refused, although a revised application was eventually submitted and accepted in December 2008, under the condition that work began within two years. The move to impose a shorter time-limit on the development was due to concerns over other stalled projects in the city centre. By July 2010, work had still not begun and the company submitted a new application in order to extend the original starting time limit to five years. The reason for the delay, the company stated, was due to an issue surrounding the awarding of a licence for the proposed casino. In October 2010, it was reported that work had stalled on the project and that a three-year extension on the time limit for building work to start had been agreed. By January 2011, it was reported that only one application for a premises licence to operate the proposed casino had been submitted, by Apollo Resorts and Leisure Limited. In February 2011, the company was granted a provisional casino licence to operate the proposed casino.

Vandalism had plagued the building since its closure in 2005. In September 2011 a massive fire, thought to be the result of arson, saw twenty firefighters battling the blaze. In June 2012 there was a further fire at the building, although not as serious. In January 2013, the company stated that work would start on this development within months and estimated that the project would be ready for 2015. In June 2013, the company stated that they were 'busting a gut' to get building work underway on the project, with delays being blamed on the planning process. The company had reportedly hoped to start demolition work that same month, however this had been put on hold. Work to clear the site began in April 2015, with demolition works estimated to take around twenty weeks to complete. It was stated that the finished product would be ready by 2017, notably the year of Hull's City of Culture celebrations. By August 2015, work was being carried out to demolish the main front, although concerns were raised after rubble from the building was seen falling into the River Hull. Despite this, the Environment Agency confirmed that water quality had not been affected or polluted. In September 2015, it was claimed that dust from the demolition work had covered hundreds of cars in white dust, a claim that the company described as 'spurious'. By November 2015 however, demolition work had come to a halt after contractors had apparently refused to continue working. It was believed that this was due to a pay disagreement between Manor Property Group and the demolition company, although Manor Property argued that workers had been paid in full until the end of October. By the end of November 2015, the Hull City Council had also become concerned regarding the lack of progress and were closely monitoring the situation.

On the 20 July 2016, the company confirmed that the hotel would not be built in time for City of Culture celebrations in 2017. The delays were attributed to the 'demolition work and other factors'. On the 6 August 2016, it was revealed that Manor Asset Limited, a company affiliated with Manor Property Group, had gone into liquidation after being ordered to pay demolition contractors more than £70,000, after being taken to court on the issue.

On the 19 September 2016, it was revealed that Manor Property Group had submitted an application to maintain lawful approval for the proposed development. Planning consent had expired in December 2015 with no work carried out. The company had argued that a drainage pipe installed in 2011 meant that the planning consent was still legally active. The month previously, councillors had refused an application from the company for a lawful development certificate. Planning permission was ultimately rejected for a second time by the council.

Former Heaven and Hell nightclub on Anne Street

In March 2011, Manor Property submitted proposals for a £15 million hotel development scheme entitled 'Manor Cube', on the site of the former 'Heaven and Hell' nightclub on Anne Street. It was stated that Hilton Hotels and Resorts would operate the hotel creating sixty jobs, providing the scheme being approved by the Hull City Council. The hotel was set to include 132-bedrooms, a gym and a conference and events facility. The company had reportedly applied for £3.3 million in funding from the Regional Growth Fund in order to carry out the works, although the company's application in the first round of bids had been unsuccessful. The company aimed to resubmit its bid during the second round in the summer of 2011. At the time, it was stated that work building the hotel would be completed by July 2013, although by this time no work had apparently been carried out. Later in 2016, it was stated that work would commence during the final quarter of 2016, with completion scheduled for 2017. In January 2016, the building was put up for sale by the company.

Former Lord Line trawler company offices at St. Andrew's Dock

Opened in 1949, the Lord Line trawler company offices once served as the home of the world's largest deep-water fishing fleet. The site, which is situated toward the undeveloped eastern end of St. Andrew's Dock, was closed in 1975 and has remained derelict ever since. Planning applications were put forward by previous owners Junction with a view of demolishing the site in 1997 and 1999, although public opinion against the work was so great that this caused the company to reconsider the proposal and look at restoring the existing building instead. Due to the history of the building and its association with the fishing industry, many groups have called for its complete restoration in memory of the trawlers that operated from the building. In December 2014, a petition was launched campaigning for the Hull City Council to takeover the site and convert it into a museum on the fishing industry, in memory of over 6,000 trawlermen that died from the city. In June 2015, a Hull property developer argued that the building should be restored to become a part of the city's heritage. Later that same month, fishing heritage campaigners also expressed concern over the impending demolition of the building. Others however have suggested that the building be demolished as quickly as possible, due to its potential to be vandalised again and the length of time that the building has been derelict. In July 2015, fishing heritage campaigners had expressed concerns after it was revealed that a building connected to the Lord Line was to be demolished. In August 2015, company director Philip Akrill unveiled six bronze plaques at the site, in tribute to those that had died during fishing disasters. The plaques had been partly funded by the company.

Manor Property purchased the site in September 2010 and had proposed plans to build 1,231 student homes. Also included in the plans was the creation of a special garden, commemorating lost trawler men. In September 2012, the plans had been 'unanimously rejected' by Hull City Council Councillors, suggesting that the idea of building flats for over 1,200 students would not work due to the 'isolated nature' of the site. In response, two new planning applications were submitted, which included plans for parking facilities, a shuttle bus service and improving plans for a proposed subway. Ultimately, these amendments swayed Councillors at a meeting in December 2012. In January 2013, the company stated that work would start on the Lord Line developments within months. It was estimated that the project would be ready for 2015, however by January 2016 substantial work on the project had still yet to commence. In June 2013, the company stated that they were 'busting a gut' in trying to get building work underway on the project, and had hoped to start work in May 2013. The delays however were blamed on the planning process. In May 2014, several repairs notices were issued on the site, requiring urgent work be undertaken on the buildings. Some of the work requested was alleged to have included the boarding up of windows, removal of graffiti and waste. In November 2014, it was reported that the Hull City Council were to carry out up to £50,000 worth of repair works to the building, after the company had apparently ignored several repairs notices. In response, the local authority were set to carry out the works and bill the owners once completed. At this point, only small-scale demolition works had been carried out. In December 2014, Akrill described the actions of the council as a 'disgrace'. In August 2015, demolition of the neighbouring Marr building was said to be underway, raising hopes of the project getting underway. In January 2016, the Hull City Council successfully prosecuted the company after several repairs notices were ignored, with the company being fined £900. The building has been subject to repeated vandalism, as well as numerous arson attacks. On the 3 June 2015, a fire at the site required 22 firefighters, four engines and an aerial platform to extinguish it. The fire was believed to have been started deliberately. In May 2016, another fire was reported from the building, although it was not particularly serious. On the 10 August 2016, arsonists again set fire to the building. On the 26 October 2016, a number of fires were reported from the building. On the 31 October 2016 photographs of children climbing on top of the building and walking close to the edge, were showcased in the Hull Daily Mail.

Other projects

In December 2009, it was revealed that Manor Property had plans to construct a 35 storey tower with space for up to 600 student apartments, based at Vicar Lane in Leeds. The cost of the scheme was said to be £30 million.

In March 2011, it was reported that Manor Property Group was working with Apollo Casino Resorts and Leisure on a proposed £24 million development in Bath, which reportedly included a 150 bedroom hotel, a small casino and several restaurants and bars.

In April 2011, the company submitted plans for one of the largest independent student living developments in Manchester, consisting of 1,091 student bedrooms to be based in Adelphi Street in Salford.

Plans for a £76 million eight storey 676-bed student accommodation development were produced by the company to be based in Hulme, Manchester, but the scheme was refused planning permission in January 2013. The company had purchased the brownfield site on Coupland Street for £36 million in 2010 and had aimed on spending £40 million on its development. An appeals hearing was scheduled to discuss the matter in January 2015, however director of the company Philip Akrill had failed to attend this and he was ultimately described as 'acting irresponsibly' by the planning inspector.

In January 2013, it was revealed that Manor Property had partnered with Lend Lease, a property group specialising in project management and construction, to design and construct 3,500 units of student accommodation initially across five locations in the United Kingdom. It was stated that the first of these five sites would form part of a £1.5 billion programme to deliver 40,000 units of student accommodation across seventy locations throughout England and Scotland by 2020. It was stated that the works would be carried out throughout the first five locations (Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Hull) from 2013 to 2015.

In 2012, planning approval was given for a £52 million development of student accommodation, entitled Manor Mill student village, to house almost 900 students in the Ecclesall Road of Sheffield. In May 2015, the company stated that they aimed to open for students in time for the 2017/18 academic year.