A planning application to move the Moston Superstore from Pym Street to a new site on Kenyon Lane has been lodged, paving the way for a public square at the heart of a £25m regeneration of Moston Lane.

If approved, the store would relocate to the Ebsworth Street car park site, creating a larger supermarket with dedicated car parking and a cycle store for the first time. Parking on Pym Street will stay open to the public, and vacant plots on Albine Street and Cole Street – formerly used by Manchester College – are due to reopen for public parking later this year to offset the loss of spaces at Ebsworth Street during construction.

Following the Council's acquisition of key plots between Pym Street and Hartley Street, the current supermarket site would be cleared to deliver a new public square fronting Moston Lane, intended as a central community hub.

The square is designed to be flexible, hosting markets and community events, with new seating, lighting, trees and planting to draw shoppers and visitors, support local businesses and strengthen the local economy.

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The wider investment programme in Moston has already delivered new social housing, pocket parks and green spaces, junction upgrades, road safety improvements, new alley-gates and targeted action on fly-tipping and other environmental issues.

On Moston Lane, enhancements to three pocket parks were completed last year alongside investment in the Simpson Memorial Hall and Community Hub.

In recent years, more than £3m in government grant funding has supported new social and affordable homes for local residents.

The 2023 framework indicates that vacant land behind Moston Lane could accommodate around 80 new homes, potentially a mix of apartments and town houses, including social and genuinely affordable properties. Ground-floor spaces are envisaged for new retail and commercial uses, with potential health and community facilities and dedicated parking.

A further 30 to 40 family homes are proposed for a site between Waterman close and Ebsworth Street to the south of Moston Lane, helping to meet demand for larger properties in the area.

Draft designs for the square and new homes will be published once a developer is appointed to deliver the homes and commercial space. The selection process is expected to conclude in the coming months, after which the Council will consult with the community on the plans.

To give residents and businesses a stronger voice in the regeneration, the Council is establishing a new advisory group chaired by local councillor Paula Appleby. The group will help shape local priorities, guide future investment, work with the appointed developer and feed into the design of the new square and public realm.

Moston Lane is one of the first focus areas in the Council’s city-wide High Street Investment programme.