Manchester tables Medieval Quarter and Piccadilly Basin plans

Masterplans to guide £10m of public realm improvements around Manchester Cathedral and Chetham’s School of Music, and the construction of more than 1,000 homes and 250,000 sq ft of commercial space at Piccadilly Basin, are to be considered at the city council’s executive meeting tomorrow.

The Medieval Quarter sits at the boundary between Manchester and Salford, across the river from the Greengate development area and near to Victoria station, Exchange Square and NOMA. Manchester City Council has prepared a framework, advised by SimpsonHaugh & Partners, for £10.8m of works to the public realm in the area.

The council is in negotiation with Chetham’s to take a long lease on the site of the 1960s Palatine Buildings which are currently being demolished, for use as public realm. The land will be transferred to the council on a peppercorn lease, which will contain a restriction which will limit the use of the land to public open space only.

Medieval Quarter plan SimpsonHaugh

The demolition of Palatine is to open up views to the Chetham’s medieval library, which was built in 1421.

Of the £10.8m allocated to the project, £3m will be focused on works to Victoria Street. The plans include the making good of river wall, hard and soft landscaping, street furniture, and £715,000 to install public art.

The council’s executive is being asked to approve a draft of the masterplan at its meeting on Wednesday 1 June, in order to put the designs out to public consultation.

Over at Piccadilly Basin, the 14.5-acre development plot next to Piccadilly station, a joint venture between site owner Town Centre Securities and Highgrove Group is proposing to build 1,083 homes and up to 250,000 sq ft of offices and retail, over a seven-year period.

Parts of Piccadilly Basin have been rebuilt by Town Centre Securities since the original masterplan was approved in 1998. In addition to the development of BDP’s office building, the Urban Exchange Retail Village and a multi-storey car park, 150 apartments were created at Vantage Quay and Jackson’s Warehouse with the listed Carver’s Warehouse restored and extended to house local start-ups.

TARIFF STREET_VIEW H_FINAL

Belgravia is on site with the development of 90 flats on Tariff Street, the first phase of the masterplan

Under the new plans, the phased development of apartments will be brought forward by Belgravia Living Group, a subsidiary of Highgrove, while TCS continues to own and maintain the estate.

Belgravia is on site with the first phase, a block of 91 flats designed by SimpsonHaugh at Tariff Street.

A £9.741m loan has been approved by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority from the Greater Manchester Housing Fund to support the first phase of development on Tariff Street within Town Centre Securities’ Piccadilly Basin development.

The masterplan includes a 500-space car park.

The executive is set to endorse a draft of the regeneration framework, which according to a report with the masterplan “will bring back into life a strategically important gateway site that connects the core of the city centre with in particular the neighbourhoods to the north east of the city centre. The framework will further enhance the offer in Piccadilly through the creation of a high quality city centre neighbourhood, that will transform the image of this area creating a vibrant residential, office, retail and leisure accommodation that is distinctive, well connected and offers life and vitality at all times throughout the year.”

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A £9.741m loan has been approved by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority from the Greater Manchester Housing Fund to support the first phase of development on Tariff Street
Can someone explain why? please. Is residential development that risky??

By Curious George

I hope the public art at Medieval Quarter is not a waste of money.

By P@

It will be……

By Mary Beard

But Manchester City Council never maintains things…Will be a mess before we know it !!! Chewing gum, LITTER all over the place…

By Schwyz

Manchester City Council are indeed hopeless at street cleaning.The main arteries into the city are horrendous.I have been looking at the same load of litter on Cheetham Hill Road since the end of February.The bus shelters are ankle deep in rubbish and the grass verges,look like landfill.The place is squalid and to be honest a sad reflection on Mancunians.As my Mother used to say,’I wouldn’t like to see their houses’ Where is your pride Mancs? You could learn a lot from Scousers on how to love your city.

By Elephant

You’re right Elephant, litter is an issue everywhere. If people stopped just dropping litter expecting other to clean up after them, the City would be a much better place. I see street cleaners in town and it must be a thankless task.

By Joe Blogs

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