Gorton gears up for £1.4m public square
Main contractor Warden Construction has begun work transforming an underused car park by Gorton Market into a vibrant public square.
Designed by Halliday Meecham Architects and DEP Landscape Architecture, the public square would feature an array of planting – including a few trees – as well as a raised terrace with seating, flexible space for pop-ups and events, and what Manchester City Council is billing as “imaginative play features”.
The square will sit between Gorton Market and the Tesco Extra off Garratt Way. The programme of work also includes installing light projections, adding a nature area between the square and Garratt Way, improving walking and cycling routes, and altering the road layout from Garratt Way to make it safer.
Work is set to finish next spring.
Cllr Gavin White, executive member for housing and development at the city council, described the start of construction as “a key milestone for us to support local businesses to thrive and generate pride in the local community – including supporting the ongoing success of Gorton Market and increase visitor numbers”.
He added: “This is just the start for Gorton too. Our longer-term plans include hundreds of new homes on council-owned land nearby to the new public square, increasing the number of affordable homes in the local area.”
Halliday Meecham Architects and DEP Landscape Architecture designed the public square in Gorton. Credit: via Manchester City Council
Those wider plans are outlined in the Gorton District Centre Development Framework, which was signed off by city councillors in January last year.
The framework, drawn up by OPEN and Cushman & Wakefield, also includes calls for further development around Wellington Street that goes beyond housing to feature commercial spaces as well. It also focuses intently on the current transport links in the district and the best way to reimagine them to drive footfall and improve connectivity.
These plans build on work the city council undertook earlier in the decade, completing a £22m community hub in 2022. The Gorton Hub includes a GP, a JobCentre Plus, NHS community health teams, a library, and access to adult education services.
Manchester City Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “We know how important Manchester’s local high streets and centres are to our residents to access shops, health services, and other community facilities – and we have made a clear commitment to investing in and celebrating our high streets and town centres across the city.
“We want our neighbourhoods to be welcoming, attractive, and green, creating destinations in our communities that our residents are proud of, which also develop and support the ongoing economic growth of our district centres. I’m excited to see the next phase of our plans for Gorton taking shape.”
Excellent, a few trees!
By Dev
Something needs to be done with the horrible shops on hyde road as well. The rubbish and mess they leave is awful especially at the rear and sides, it’s just an eyesore.
By Tisty
As part of this development, there needs to be a focus on removing the beggars outside the main door of Tesco who can be intimidating and the smell of weed is disgusting on some days. These people will simply sit on the new seating in the square which is pointless. I also agree that the types of shops opening on Hyde Road opposite Tesco are an eyesore.
By Jeff
Absolute waste of money and to say car park under used is rubbish
I sometimes have trouble parking when I go there :
Please spend the money on something useful :
Does this also mean we will have to put up with more beggars hanging around
By Anonymous
They have increased the rent to the stall holders on the market and many have left or are reducing the size of their stalls? Our council is putting people out of work and reducing shopping choice. As is usually with this council it will all go wrong and we will be poorer for it.
By Concerned resident
So will MCC be guaranteeing the future of Gorton Market as part of this – in something of a u-turn from its regular threats to close it? If it was, you’d think they would have made this clear…
By Anonymous
Let’s hope it all comes together I was born in gorton ,so proud .
By Anonymous
What a total waste of space and tax payers money, them car spaces are used and this will just cause more congestion to an initially badly planned road access and egress layout onto Garrat way. This space will never get used. Useless.
By Paul
Very nice ! In any other area where it would be appreciated by the residents but not Gorton. It will be ruined in a year . They need to spend money getting those shops along Hyde Road tidy there a disgrace. They park their cars/vans on the front causing havoc with traffic queuing upto Reddish Bridge. Get them off Hyde Road
By Brenda
Another absolute waste of public money .. this will just end up as another druggie meeting place . Gorton is a Ghetto and is going to Hell in a handcart .
By Mark.H
You say you want the neighbourhood to be green your taking every little bit of green land there is and building houses on it, so there will be no green at all.
Also Hyde road is a nightmare and an eye sore, every shop on Hyde road is dirty looking and disgusting, I would never shop in any of them and I’d travel further out to buy what I need.
The new square will be ruined by the beggars who are intimidating, aggressive and smell of weed
By Karen Street
More public money wasted, reduce the rates and rent in the market hall to bring in the shoppers. To say the car park is underused ? Who will pay for the vandalism that’s sure to follow, oh tax payers. Don’t think the majority of gorton people would have supported this proposal.
By Mike
waste of money
By KD
You can’t polish a turd, look in the entry and behind the post office. Dreadful fly tipping everywhere.
By Nat g
Underused. ?? Since when is this car park underused,
By Anonymous
Another waste of money by mcr city council. Underused car park was always jammed. How about leaving well alone and cutting the council tax? As for cycle paths, what about improving roads for all road users, not just the minority?
By Neil
Any improvement is good however, the council keeps putting the rents up in the market which is not good because we are losing traders that are serving the community which is sad.
By Tracey
The money would have been spent cleaning the area up of rubbish. Then maybe there would be less mice and rats
By Anonymous
Wow who’d have thought some nice new public space would attract such hostility. Maybe the council should just put money into other parts of the city and leave the miserable citizens of Gorton to their squalor and their giant supermarket car parks.
By Anonymous