Mayfield car park gets a makeover 

The planned multistorey car park at the Landsec-led regeneration project has been redesigned in an effort to make the first phase of the Manchester development more sustainable. 

The Mayfield Partnership – LandsecU+I, Manchester City Council, LCR, and TfGM – last week announced plans to overhaul the £400m first phase, which comprises 320,000 sq ft of office across two buildings as well as the car park, to improve its environmental credentials. 

A planning application has now been submitted to Manchester City Council seeking permission for a raft of changes to the car park. The reworked office proposals are to follow in short order. 

To view the car park proposals, search for application reference number 137350/JO/2023 on Manchester City Council’s planning portal. 

A futureproofed car park 

The changes include the creation of 450 cycle parking spaces at basement level and an additional 14,000 sq ft of commercial space on ground floor level. 

The number of car parking spaces has been reduced from 581 to 487 “to reflect the inclusion of new active uses within the ground and basement levels and removal of one halfdeck of spaces at level 10”, according to a planning statement by Deloitte. 

There will be more EV charging points, too. And, in future, up to 50% of all spaces could have EV charging capability. 

The overall appearance of the building has also been given a makeover. The updated designs “better reflect the history of the Mayfield area”, according to Deloitte. The upper levels of the MSCP reference patterns from the Calico Dye Works that formerly occupied the site. 

The previous proposal has been reworked. Credit: via planning documents

Structurally, the car park has undergone a rethink that in-builds flexibility and provides the opportunity for the building to be repurposed in future. 

The upper levels of the car park will be “demountable” and sit above a concrete two-storey plinth forming the basement and ground floors.

This means the car park element of the building can effectively be removed and the foundations reused. This “could allow for a new building and use to be established if the car park reached the end of its life”, Deloitte said. 

A rooftop solar array is another new addition to the plans, designed by Studio Egret West. 

Great expectations 

Expectations around sustainability credentials have soared in the three years since the Mayfield plans were first approved, prompting a refresh of the original proposals.  

As well as the car park, The Poulton and The Republic – the first two office buildings planned for Mayfield – have been reworked with a target of 600kg of CO 2/ sq m “making them two of the most sustainable new office buildings in the city”, according to the partners.  

Bennetts Associates designed The Poulton, a 76,000 sq ft building, and Morris+Company is behind the 244,000 sq ft Republic.  

In addition, the developers are aiming for a 5.5-star NABERS rating across both buildings.  

Three acres of public spaces – in addition to the £23m Mayfield Park, which opened last year – also form part of the updated plans. 

To learn more about how to property industry is tackling issues around sustainability in the built environment, sign up for Place North West’s Sustainability in Practice event on Thursday 6 July 2023.