CAPITAL & Centric – the developer behind Manchester’s proposed £150m Kampus neighbourhood – have snapped up a cluster of former textile mills and factories behind Piccadilly Station.

We’re excited by the prospect of HS2 and we wanted to be involved in developing this part of the city, dubbed East Village

The listed buildings - located between Chapeltown Street and Baird Street – have been sold off to the property developer by a private owner ahead of a planned redevelopment project, dubbed 'East Village'.

“This is a rare thing to find; beautiful old mills right next to Piccadilly Station in need of a lot of investment to bring them back to their former glory,” said Adam Higgins, Director at Capital & Centric. “These buildings have evolved for various different uses over the years and we’re delighted to be the current custodians of their future.”

Less chuffed are the Rogue Artists collective, who have occupied three floors of Crusader Mill on Chapeltown Street since 1999.

A spokesperson for the collective said: “Rogue has provided working space and a cultural hub for Manchester’s burgeoning arts scene, not to mention the cultural capital which is so often used as an attraction when marketing Manchester. We are now looking to relocate and hoping a suitable building can be found.

"We have between twelve and eighteen months according to Capital & Centric. Rogue would like to thank everyone who has been in touch to express their concern and to offer help and advice. We have had positive and productive meetings with the new owners of the building and a number of key organisations and agencies and are hopeful that we can move forward from this point and continue to thrive as a major cultural asset to the region."

Rogue Artists have occupied Crusader Mill for fifteen years

The old mills and factories border the area earmarked for the proposed new High Speed Two (HS2) terminal at Piccadilly – which could see roughly 50 dwellings just north of the station demolished to make way for four new HS2 platforms.

“We’re excited by the prospect of HS2 and we wanted to be involved in developing this part of the city, dubbed East Village,” said Higgins. “We like reusing and repurposing buildings, and opportunities like this don’t come around often.”

The Government confirmed last month that the £55bn HS2 network will reach Crewe by 2027, while ministers are expected to publish the exact route to Manchester and Leeds in Autumn 2016.

(image courtesy of Rogue)