Construction begins on The Anchor Residency in Trafford

What is being built at The Anchor Residency

Bridgestone Construction is the appointed contractor for two buildings containing one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. They will rise to eight and 13 storeys beside Trafford Way and the Manchester Ship Canal, within the first residential phase.

Peel Waters describes The Anchor Residency as the neighbourhood’s first high-rise residential development. Its September construction announcement gives autumn 2028 as the expected completion date. That remains a developer forecast rather than a guaranteed handover.

The build-to-sell description matters: these are homes intended for sale, rather than the Rent to Buy apartments already completed elsewhere on the site. The announcement establishes the housing mix, contractor and anticipated delivery period, but does not establish selling prices or individual purchase arrangements.

The Anchor Residency apartments also broaden the announced bedroom mix beyond Pearson Place’s one- and two-bedroom homes. The inclusion of three-bedroom apartments is a specific difference between the two projects, without establishing who will ultimately live in either scheme.

Pearson Place brings a different route into housing

Pearson Place reached practical completion earlier in 2026. Peel Waters’ announcement on 22 April records 83 apartments delivered for L&Q by Rowlinson, with support from Homes England and the Recycled Capital Grant Fund.

The completed scheme contains 52 one-bedroom and 31 two-bedroom homes across two brick-clad buildings. All were delivered through Rent to Buy, with the announcement describing rents equivalent to 80% of market rent.

That percentage is the published rental basis, not a cash price for any particular apartment. The completion announcement does not establish an individual household’s eligibility, current vacancies or the terms of a future purchase.

L&Q’s Trafford Waters development information identifies the address as 1 Bridgewater Avenue, Trafford Park. It describes open-plan kitchens, fully integrated appliances and a private balcony for every home. These details belong to Pearson Place and should not be assumed to describe The Anchor Residency.

Later-life accommodation is already part of the neighbourhood

The first completed residential development was an 85-bed care home, developed by Montpelier Estates and constructed by Rowlinson. Tanglewood’s opening report, dated 6 May 2025, describes the arrival of its first residents.

The operator’s account lists a salon, cinema, library and reading rooms, a multi-faith room, garden room, sensory gardens and terraces. These facilities explain the building’s accommodation offer, but do not establish the quality of care delivered.

The relevant regulatory context is separate. CQC’s assessment published on 23 June 2026 rated the service Requires improvement overall. Its Safe assessment identified breaches concerning staffing and safe care and treatment.

The design work behind a mixed-use waterfront

Arcadis’ project account explains the planning work behind the proposed neighbourhood. Its commission concerned regenerating vacant land on the Manchester Ship Canal’s south bank, combining housing with commercial space, amenities, retail, leisure and a school.

The designer describes linked waterbodies intended to separate employment and residential areas. The canal setting and landscaping therefore informed the organisation of uses, rather than serving only as a backdrop to apartment buildings.

Arcadis also records consultation with Trafford Council, Salford Council and Transport for Greater Manchester. Its account includes officer workshops, a Places Matter! design review, a BREEAM Communities review and engagement with English Heritage.

Following outline consent, Arcadis worked on two first-phase plots and a site-wide design code. Such a code sets design principles across a development rather than leaving each plot entirely separate.

The Arcadis project account reports using parametric design tools across 27 buildings to inform apartment mixes, heights and composition. These tools explore design options by varying defined inputs. The number describes the scope of design work, not 27 completed buildings.

Construction spending and the local skills connection

For local businesses, Pearson Place provides specific evidence about construction spending. Peel Waters reports a £14 million build, including £5.8 million spent by L&Q and Rowlinson with suppliers within 10.5 miles of the site.

These figures concern Pearson Place, not The Anchor Residency. They describe reported project expenditure and a stated supplier radius, rather than a measurement of economic benefits across Greater Manchester.

The completion account also records work experience, T Level placements and apprenticeships. It describes a trainee quantity surveyor progressing into permanent Assistant QS employment, alongside a programme for children outside mainstream schools.

A separate September 2026 announcement concerns a Trafford business skills survey. Its commissioning partners were Trafford Council, Trafford & Stockport College Group, Therme Manchester, The Growth Company and the University of Salford.

The survey asked about current and future recruitment and skills needs. Its intended uses included informing curricula, skills programmes, investment and collaboration around TraffordCity’s growth.

The announced closing date was 31 October 2026. That published date is not confirmation of continuing availability, so the survey is relevant here as a separate skills initiative rather than a participation invitation.

What to follow next

Trafford Waters now has three distinct stages to follow: completed residential buildings, The Anchor Residency under construction and wider neighbourhood proposals awaiting delivery. Keeping those stages separate makes progress easier to assess.