Old Granada Studios interim plans emerge

Activity at the Old Granada Studios site in Manchester is due to start next month, according to plans unveiled at a consultation event on Thursday evening.

Proposals will see the 13-acre area off Quay Street used for pop-up shops, bars and restaurants, 'lab kitchens' and markets. There will also be spaces for music and theatre performances and film screenings.

Timber Yard will be converted into week-day car parking. A weekend market will run along the length of Grape Street and the Goods Yard. Street food vendors and a potential micro-brewery are also due to be taking up residence in the coming months.

The masterplan for the long-term development of the area, to be renamed St John's Quarter, is due to be submitted by September 2015. The plans announced on Thursday were for the temporary use of the area for the next couple of years until the lasting redevelopment is carried out.

One of the largest buildings on the site, the 14,280 sq ft Bonded Warehouse, is designated as a creative office space and hot-desking facility. Allied London is understood to be in early talks with technology incubator Tech Hub to take space in the building.

A spokesman for Allied London confirmed that, although plans were only in the early stages, it is likely that the Bonded Warehouse will be incorporated into the final masterplan as office space.

The old Coronation Street set and adjacent studio buildings were ring-fenced by ITV and were not among the plots sold to Allied London and Manchester City Council last year. When tours of the old TV set finish in autumn 2014 the future of the set will be decided upon at the discretion of ITV. Cultural campaigners in Manchester are expected to apply to English Heritage to list the famous set in the coming months. An earlier attempt to list the set failed.

The redevelopment is likely to be residential-led and could potentially contain up to 3,500 units.