2025 in review | Best-read stories and most-watched videos

What commanded your attention this past year? We have rounded up the top stories, videos, and podcasts on Place North West from the past 356 days to show what topics, projects, and themes you could not get enough of.

BEST-READ STORIES

10. Inspector rules in favour of heritage railway 

Snowdonia National Park Authority was ordered to pay costs after the Planning Inspectorate approved Ffestiniog Railway Company’s petition for a new station building at Beddgelert. This scheme had been in the making since 2006, when it initially secured approval. The project failed to move forward because of financial pressures – until 2023 when the heritage railway company submitted proposals for a smaller station. This was refused for five reasons – each of which was rejected by the inspector.

9. Lidl snaps up former Liverpool Taskers

Lidl acquired the Wavertree Road site in August. The news proved controversial as the land had been recommended for laboratory space – or even housing – due to its proximity to Sciontec’s Paddington Village. Lidl put forward plans for a 15,000 sq ft store around a month later.

The laboratory dream did not die, though. The supermarket also revealed that it was only going to use a portion of the site for the supermarket and car park – with the remainder going back on the market.

8. Man City presses on with £300m stadium expansion

With the opening of Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, construction starting on Wrexham AFC’s 7,750-seat Kop, and the continued ‘will they, won’t they’ of Mancester United’s Old Trafford – you would be forgiven for forgetting that Manchester City has been quietly plugging away at its own stadium expansion. The project will see the North Stand get an upper tier that boosts the stadium’s capacity to more than 60,000. The scheme topped out in May. Work on a 400-bed hotel and covered fan zone is expected to wrap in late 2026.

7. Warner Bros. takes 48,000 sq ft in Trafford 

Who can resist the allure of Hollywood? The media conglomerate – which may or may not be purchased by Netflix next year – signed a flex five-year lease for 75 Trafford Wharf Road. The building will be used to film BBC’s Waterloo Road series.

6. Stockport golf course with permission for 278 homes hits market

Housing in Stockport is always a talker on PNW, thanks to the ongoing saga that is its local plan (latest update: draft has been published, consultation has concluded, and a new version is being worked up). This story earned a lot of attention due to the nature of the hard-won planning permission attached to the 45-acre plot in Gatley. Hollins Strategic Land’s scheme had been rejected by the council only to be approved at appeal, with the Planning Inspectorate ruling that Stockport’s inability to prove a five-year housing land supply meant that the project could progress.

5. BNY to leave Liverpool Manchester

This story had all the components required to set the Place North West comment section on fire: Liverpool offices, a bit of Manchester rivalry, a large letting. BNY revealed it would be shuttering its doors at the Royal Liverpool Building in favour of its newest office at 4 Angel Square in Manchester. We now know that BNY’s interest in 4 Angel Square goes well beyond a letting – the bank is in talks to buy all 200,000 sq ft of its Manchester home.

It was not all bad news for Liverpool offices though. The government took on 52,000 sq ft at the Capital Building on Old Hall Street, while the £55m Pall Mall proposals were resurrected.

4. Path cleared for ‘very early’ start on Manchester underground

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham must be proud – his plans for the future of the Bee Network were some of the most popular stories on our site this year. This one focussed on the initial feasibility work being greenlit for an underground commuter line. Later this year, Burnham unveiled a 2050 target for the deliver of a subway network for the city region.

3. Britain’s least-used station could become part of Metrolink 

Plans for city centre public transport changes made up only half of the Bee Network story this year. In November, it was revealed that Denton was being explored for a potential light rail network extension. This would bring tram-trains to the station, connecting Denton to those commuting from Ashton to Manchester Airport.

2. Gallery | ‘Largest Pakistani restaurant in the world’ nears completion at Stockport Pyramid 

The revival of the Stockport Pyramid captured your attention this year. Since this story, which offered a sneak peek of the banquet hall and restaurant, was published Royal Nawaab has opened and earned a rave review from Financial Times restaurant critic Jay Rayner.

1. Bee Network sets next round of tram expansions in motion 

Remember when we said you could not get enough of Bee Network news? This was by far our best-read story of the year, outlining the future of Metrolink. It touched on what was next on Burnham’s hit list for public transport:

• 1st: Pathfinder tram-train for Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood, Bury
• 2nd: Stockport Metrolink expansion
• 3rd: Airport expansion
• 4th: North-west link between Salford, Wigan, and Bolton
• 5th: Middleton and Northern Gateway; as well as Trafford Waters, Port Salford, Western Gateway
• 6th: Underground

TOP THREE VIDEOS

1. Take a tour of the Cresent Salford masterplan

The £2.5bn Crescent Salford masterplan is one of the country’s largest and most ambitious regeneration schemes. Project partners ECF, Salford City Council, and the University of Salford are hard at work turning the vision into a reality for the benefit of local people. Place North West visited the city to learn more.

2. Take a tour of Liverpool’s Grove Street development

One of the largest social housing developments in the country is currently under construction in Liverpool. Place North West went along to find out more about the project.

Regenda Group’s regeneration of the 1970s Grove Street estate aims to provide more and better homes on the cusp of Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter.

Overall, the scheme will see the number of homes on site double to more than 300 as the ageing apartments are levelled to pave the way for the delivery of energy efficient homes for existing and new residents.

3. Take a tour of Placefirst’s completed Deansgate Gardens development in Bolton

Deansgate Gardens, a 167-home build-to-rent development, forms part of the council’s vision for a more vibrant town centre and is evidence of that plan coming to fruition.

Now complete, Placefirst’s scheme offers up a mix of townhouses and apartments on a three-acre site in the heart of the town centre.

On a recent visit to Deansgate Gardens, Place North West spoke to Phil Jones, development director at Placefirst, and Gillian Harrison, associate director at architect Levitt Bernstein, about how the project came about, how it was delivered, and what it brings to Bolton.

TOP THREE PODCASTS

1. Scheming with Phil Mayall

Phil Mayall joined ‘Scheming’ host Dan Whelan to discusses Salford Central, a multi-billion-pound project he has dedicated much of his professional life to, and Kings Cross – an exemplar of how to get regeneration right.

2. Why public-private partnerships need a refresh

The popular model, viewed as the de facto solution for unlocking largescale regeneration efforts, is “creaking,” according to Brabners’ Roy Barry. He teamed up with CBRE’s Adam White to brainstorm ways to make public-private partnerships work in difficult economic times in this Place North podcast episode, hosted by Julia Hatmaker.

3. Scheming with Pete Swift

Planit co-founder Pete Swift lifted the lid on Liverpool’s UNESCO debacle and designing gardens for the Japanese mafia in this episode hosted by Dan Whelan.