Green light for Coroner’s move to Royal Exchange
Manchester City Council will begin the process of decanting its Coroner’s Court and services to the Royal Exchange, where contractor Conlon is due to start fitting out the new facility shortly.
The council has this month signed off listed building consent to allow the move to go ahead, and the Coroner is now set to take 12,000 sq ft in the building overlooking Marks & Spencer on its Exchange Street side.
Fit-out of the building will include a jury room, two courtrooms, meeting rooms, a witness room, a medical examiner’s office, a coroner’s office, and further offices and facilities for staff and visitors.
Conlon has been appointed to the project through the North West Construction Hub’s low value, construction-only framework.
Furniture and fittings from the existing Coroner’s Court in the town hall will also be relocated to the Royal Exchange.
Entrance to the building will be via a reception on Cross Street, and the Coroner’s Court is expected to complete its move to the Royal Exchange in spring next year.
A move was first mooted in a report to the council in September. It is one of a number of departments that will relocate as refurbishment works start on the Town Hall, as part of the £330m Our Town Hall project.
The council has already rented space at Bridgewater House on Whitworth Street for three years, while a number of departments and services will relocate to the Town Hall Extension and Central Library.