Northern Gateway, Mayfield head Govt funding wishlist

Manchester City Council is pulling together a bid for financial support from Whitehall to help it progress key regeneration schemes including the £1.4bn Mayfield and the £1bn Northern Gateway.

The council is targeting a submission ahead of the anticipated July stimulus package to be unveiled by Chancellor Rishi Sunak this month.

The package is part of Government efforts to stave off what economists warn could be the UK’s worst recession in 300 years in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

A report to Manchester City Council’s economic scrutiny committee ahead of a meeting on Thursday said: “The council is considering its own submission to the July fiscal event, seeking investment in our priority projects, such as Mayfield, Northern Gateway and North Manchester General Hospital.”

The report did not detail the expected value of the bid.

The Mayfield regeneration project aims to bring back into a use a previously derelict 30-acre site opposite Manchester Piccadilly station over the next 10-15 years.

Once complete, the redeveloped site is planned to provide 1,500 homes, a 650-bedroom hotel, retail and leisure space, and more than 800,000 sq ft of offices.

The scheme, which has planning permission for the first phase comprising 320,000 sq ft of offices and a public park, is being delivered by the Mayfield Partnership, a consortium made up of developer U+I, Manchester City Council, LCR and Transport for Greater Manchester.

Work was due to start work on site this year but is expected to be delayed due to the pandemic.

The 383-acre Northern Gateway was designed by architect Farrells

The Northern Gateway masterplan, which is being delivered in a joint venture between Hong Kong-based developer Far East Consortium and Manchester City Council, seeks to regenerate 383 acres north of the city centre, including the areas of Collyhurst, Red Bank, New Town, Angelgate and Addington Street.

The project could see 15,000 homes built over the next 20 years.

Meanwhile, North Manchester General Hospital in Crumpsall is undergoing a £3.2m extension programme including a three-storey building designed by architect Lewis & Hickey. Further redevelopment over the next decade is proposed, with North Manchester General selected as one of three regional hospitals to receive a share of £100m as part of the Government’s health infrastructure plan.

The bid is thought to form part of a wider submission being coordinated by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in response to the Government’s call for applications for funding for ‘shovel-ready’ projects last month.