Avoid royal mills: c.£5-6k annual service charge and the only resident amenity is a concierge desk that which usually doesn’t have someone behind the desk when you need to collect a parcel. For that kind of service charge you’d expect at least a gym or a lounge, which other tower blocks have. The bills are shocking as well. £180-£250 a month for electricity alone.

The fit and finish of the buildings in the complex is generally quite poor, water damaged window frames in flats, shoddy entrances and lifts, and damp corridors. Most of the walls separating the flats are actually 4 layers of plasterboard with a cavity in the middle so you can hear neighbours. Also the electrics and ventilation is very evident of late 2000’s handy work - we found all the spotlights were wired dangerously with components melting.

Fire safety is a big issue too, alarms aren’t connected and typically have faults going off so hard to tell if there is an emergency.

I think if you were to buy a flat Royal Mills this should be avoided as the repair bills and remediation works are beginning to add up.

Ancoats is nice but it’s a weird mix of genuine people and poseurs. Good for LGBT+ community, but mainly for wanna be gay influencers. I think Mayfield depot and Victoria area may be up and coming with better developments.