Fresh images of £1.7bn ID Manchester unveiled
Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Manchester have published a 106-page document that will guide the long-awaited redevelopment of the former UMIST campus into a 4m sq ft innovation district.
View the £1.7bn ID Manchester vision in full
Place North West reported last month that a revised strategic regeneration framework for the area was in the works. A public consultation on the proposals has now launched and will run until 8 September 2023.
The SRF has been drawn up by architect Allies and Morrison, SLA, Stanhope, Deloitte, ARUP, Stephen Levrant Heritage Architecture, Useful Projects, Ekosgen, and Arcadis.
The newly published draft SRF sets out the scale, ambition and opportunities that ID Manchester brings to the city and includes a series of place-based principles aimed at guiding detailed plans for development and future planning applications.
Illustrative images of what the district could look like are shared in the SRF, including a new civic square, a revitalised Vimto Park, and the repurposing of key heritage assets such as the Sackville Street and Renold buildings. Jackson’s Mill could also be refurbished into innovation space.
Bruntwood SciTech also wants to ensure that ID is connected to the city centre in all directions, funnelling people into the site in line with its vision of creating a “human collider”.
The idea is to “concentrate movement through the central shared spaces, making them the focal point for social interaction”, according to a Manchester City Council report from June.
A critical mass of people is needed to make ID Manchester a “genuinely world-class innovation district, with a vibrant, inclusive, 24/7 community, that can deliver the anticipated benefits to the city”.
The scheme features a new civic square. Credit: via Citypress
Speaking on behalf of Bruntwood SciTech, Lou Cordwell, ID Manchester director, said: “As well as becoming a world-leading tech and science location that helps to put Manchester on the global innovation map, we want to create an exemplar for inclusive innovation.
“Close collaboration with local residents and businesses will be integral to ensuring communities across Greater Manchester benefit from the future success of ID Manchester.”
John Holden, associate vice-president for major special projects at the University of Manchester said the scheme would “breathe new life into the site with a renewed purpose to drive positive economic, social and environmental change through innovation”.
“For over a century, the site has been a centre for science, teaching and innovation, and ID Manchester will build on that history. We look forward to engaging with the public and the University’s stakeholders to hear their views on how ID Manchester can benefit residents and businesses across Greater Manchester.”
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- Credit: via Citypress
- Credit: via Citypress
- ID Manchester being named an investment zone just makes good business sense. Credit: via Citypress
- Credit: via Citypress
