Albert Square to be ready for Christmas programme, says Manchester
With full completion expected in summer 2026 on both the square and the Town Hall, the council said “a civic square to rival the best in Europe” will host festive events this year.
This would be the first time since 2019 Albert Square has hosted festivities, having been closed through the Our Town Hall redevelopment project.
Manchester City Council’s resources and governance scrutiny committee meets on Thursday 6 March, and will hear the latest report on the Our Town Hall project, described by the local authority as the largest and most complex heritage scheme in the UK. Lendlease is the main contractor.
According to this report, the project is continuing to operate within the revised £429m budget, adjusted upwards by £76m in October last year, although “some residual risks remain”.
The update confirms that most of the transformed and enlarged Albert Square will be made available to support 2025’s Christmas programme for the first time since 2019.
While works to the square will not be completely finished, the programme is being re-sequenced and accelerated to allow the space to be used for the city’s ever-busy Christmas programme.
MCC said that the project team is now 80% of the way through works in the project’s construction phase. While negotiations with contractors around financial claims and other issues are ongoing, a programme to completion has been developed which would see the main programme of works conclude in August 2026 on both the square and the town hall.
This should not be seen as the reopening date for the town hall, which from that point will still require some further works and testing before reoccupation.
There are plans in the works for a major programme of events in Albert Square and the Town Hall itself running up to and including September 2027, which will mark the 150th anniversary of the building’s original opening.
The original reopening date had been summer 2024.
Cllr Garry Bridges, deputy leader of MCC, said: “We know Mancunians and visitors alike are looking forward to having their town hall and their civic square back and better than ever and it’s great that we can now look ahead to that.
“We are developing a civic square to rival the best in Europe and it will be exciting to see it pilot Christmas events this year ahead of a full permanent opening next year.
“We look forward over the course of this year to announcing more details about Christmas in Albert Square and how people in Manchester can help us celebrate the reopening of their magnificent town hall.
“We’ve overcome so many challenges to get to this point and while the unique nature of the project is such that some inevitably still remain, we believe the end result will be something special.”
The committee report also details how a milestone was reached this month, with the restoration of a permanent power supply to the town hall
MCC said that a further update report will be issued this summer once negotiations with the management contractor have concluded and the completion date is confirmed.
Can’t wait for this and the Town Hall to be fully restored and reopened. It’s all cost a huge amount of money. Worth it.
By London flyer
Arrggh!
great first mention of Christmas can never be too early:)
By Anonymous
“a civic square to rival the best in Europe” Will this be to the scale of the “European boulevard” at Great Ancoats street>
By Anonymous
Typical Manchester city council always offering excuses never give a real breakdown of the over spending and delays
By Mark zielinski
As property and construction professionals, we should all be understanding of why this is over-budget and over-time. This was never going to be a simple project.
By Big Dub
Fingers crossed the square is as good as their claiming, GAS ‘European Style Boulevard’ was an absolute shambles and no way near what could’ve been a genuinely great street
By Anonymous
Phenomenal project. Had a brief glimpse around the restoration work in the Town Hall. It’s simply impossible to gauge the amount of work required in such an incredibly designed and ornate building. Looking forward to getting the enlarged Albert Square opened again. That previously quite corner heading towards Bootle St is going to be very difficult when the new St Michaels fully opens for business too.
By St Peter
Great Ancoats street is an embarrassment. I hope that they have made a better job of this, than that tatty side street.
By Elephant
Which Christmas?
By Buddy
The City Council spin team should leave the braggadocio in the Town Hall skeletons cupboard until after the Square has opened. Lest we forget they have form. Piccadilly Gardens anyone?
By Anonymous
People talking about how as property professionals we should understand why it is delayed and why it has cost so much money. Yes refurbishments can be unpredictable but lets not pretend it clearly hasn’t been managed well enough, either in pre construction or post. Anyone who has undertaken a refurbishment project of a similar nature will tell you how extensive surveys and investigations need to be to determine potential issues before any works commence.
It will be a wonderful project but how many millions of Council money has been wasted in prolongation due to poor management?
By Mr Manchester
At some point they should replace those mediocre 1970s/80s buildings fronting the square they really drag it down
By Anonymous