Message from the Board of the Ancoats Dispensary Trust
Since the end of September 2017 when the Trust failed to raise the necessary match-funding of £800,000, ownership of the building passed back to Urban Splash, and then onto Manchester City Council. At this point the future of the Dispensary was again in peril. However, the Board received some fantastic news that Great Places Housing Group had declared their interest in developing the building in partnership with MCC. Since then, Great Places Housing Group has been in communication with Ancoats Dispensary Trust regularly and has kept the Trust up-to-date with progress. They have held a Public Consultation in May 2021 and have submitted plans for the Dispensary to the MCC Planning Department. At every stage, Great Places Housing Group has sought our views and taken into consideration the Trust’s expertise on the heritage of this wonderful building.
On Friday the 25th of February 2022 Linda Carver of the Ancoats Dispensary Trust along with the staff of Great Places Housing Group, the Leader of Manchester City Council, the contractor’s Eric Wright & Company and Buttress the architects were invited by Great Places Housing Group to the launch of what is going to be a 2-year building programme.
At the launch, it was recognised that the work carried out by the community group had been instrumental in saving the Dispensary for restoration. It is envisaged that the accommodation to be provided within the fabric of the Dispensary will be a mixture of affordable and social housing. Many of the Dispensary’s heritage features will be saved and the tower will be re-created.
The ADT Board would like to take this opportunity of thanking the community of Ancoats and surrounding districts of Greater Manchester for their support throughout this long and gruelling campaign. Without this support the building would have been demolished long ago and it is a testament to the commitment and dedication of a small group of people that the Dispensary still stands.