Historic Manchester railway arches to become artist training ground

Robertson Construction has begun work on the £3.7m HOME Arches project, which will convert the heritage structures into low-cost rehearsal studios and workshops.

The railway arches in question sit between the main HOME arts centre building at Tony Wilson Place and Whitworth Street West. Their transformation into an artistic development hub, designed by Jon Matthews Architects, is set to finish in May 2024.

The hub will be for artists of various disciplines, ages, and experience levels. The space will be operated by HOME, which is the trading name of the Greater Manchester Arts Centre. HOME crafted the business model for HOME Arches by consulting a group of artists who provided ideas of what they would want from the training space.

Money for the £3.7m scheme comes, in part, from Manchester City Council’s successful £20m Levelling Up Fund bid in 2021.

The council has set aside £2.3m of that award for HOME Arches, with the remaining going towards Allied London’s conversion of the grade two-listed Campfield Market buildings into a tech, media, and creative hub.

Manchester City Council has also contributed £900,000 to the HOME Arches project. HOME has allocated £500,000.

When the project completes in 2024, the arches will offer low-cost rehearsal and training spaces for artists. Credit: via Jon Matthews Architects

Manchester City Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig described the arches as having “sat unloved and underused for many years”.

“This scheme is bringing them back to life with a very modern purpose – complementing the thriving cultural economy in our city,” she said.

“Culture has a huge role to play in the success of our city and its people – creatively, for health and well-being and economically,” Craig continued.

“This project will enhance this part of the city centre, create new jobs and further strengthen Manchester’s cultural ecosystem.”

Main contractor Robert Construction North West is pleased to work alongside Manchester City Council on the heritage arches project, according to regional managing director Dirk Pittaway.

“The regeneration of these heritage arches into a centre for artists illustrates the commitment from the council to repurpose spaces into facilities which create benefits for the wider community,” Pittaway said.

“We look forward to making our contribution through the art of transformation.”

HOME chief executive and director Dave Moutrey expressed his excitement for the project, saying “HOME Arches will allow us to grow the work that we do with artists in the North West, across theatre, film, visual art and digital works and we can’t wait to get started”.