GARY NEVILLE has admitted he made “huge mistakes” while planning his £400million development in Manchester.
The Man Utd legend, 48, is set to appear as a guest star on the next series of Dragons’ Den.
But his foray into the world of business has been scrutinised following the BBC’s announcement about him appearing on the TV show.
And during an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Wake Up To Money, he was forced to answer questions about his building plan in Manchester city centre.
First proposed 15 years ago, Neville’s St Michael’s scheme includes two towers with a five-star hotel, luxury flats, offices and a rooftop restaurant.
The initial plan was slammed by locals as it wanted to demolish the legendary Sir Ralph Abercromby pub – believed to be the inspiration for the BBC TV series Life on Mars – which is thought to have stood since the 1700s.
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Part of a historic police station was also set to be axed in the proposal.
Now, Neville, who has since revised his plan and seen work begin on the development, concedes there were some regrettable details in his original strategy.
He said: “I love old buildings, I have always renovated old buildings, the idea that we looked at that pub and the front of Bootle Street police station and thought we should knock it down, that was a huge mistake.
“I have openly admitted that we got it wrong but we have been corrected and we have owned up to our mistakes and we are now on site.”
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He went on to add: “I had a couple of experiences around that time. You come out of Manchester United where you’ve won for 15, 20 years, you feel unbreakable.
“You’re doing things, you’re excited about everything you do and you may get a bit carried away.
“I’ve said Valencia was a job I shouldn’t have taken on. I was sacked after four months. I didn’t have the capability to do it and it needed someone with vast experience.
“The St Michael’s project showed me that you can have a good idea, but if you don’t bring people along with you on the journey and don’t communicate with them you’re not going to succeed.”
Once complete, Neville’s project pledges to create 2,200 jobs.
But the St Michael’s complex has been criticised for its lack of affordable housing.
And eight-time Premier League winner Neville, who retired from football in 2011, addressed this criticism too, saying: “Manchester needs all types of different properties.
“Do you think it’s right that an international city of Manchester’s quality only has one five star hotel?
“We absolutely need more affordable housing. And the development will make a payment worth millions to the council to contribute to more of it in Manchester.
“It’s not right that we don’t have enough affordable housing. But that doesn’t mean that when we build something that’s world class that we should blame that.
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“I always feel that when I build something that’s high quality people say ”You’re a Labour party member and you’re building a five-star hotel”.
“It seems to me that only Conservative voters are able to talk about excellence, high-quality and international world-class developments.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
