Revealed: MCC’s latest project funding wishlist

The £1.5bn ID Manchester innovation district, the St Michael’s mixed-use scheme and Salboy’s 40-storey Viadux tower are among projects earmarked to receive investment to help buoy the city.

Manchester City Council will this afternoon unveil an economic recovery strategy, entitled Powering Recovery: Manchester’s Recovery and Investment Plan, to help the city bounce back from the Covid-enforced slowdown.

The plan sets out an immediate £36m funding boost for people and businesses hard hit during the pandemic, and a longer term investment strategy featuring a list of £800m of schemes the council deems worthy of funding from central Government.

“We know we are the best city in the UK for resilience, supported by our diverse economy, and this is our blueprint for powering recovery after the shock of the pandemic,” Louise Wyman, strategic director of growth and development at Manchester City Council, told Place North West.

The property projects included in the investment plan, and their funding asks are:

• Manchester Housing Provider Partnership Retrofit programme – £260m (to retrofit around 6,500 residential properties with renewable heating by 2025)
• ID Manchester – £120m
• Manchester Manufacturing Innovation Park – £90m
• City centre public realm improvements (four projects: The Factory arts centre; Lincoln Square; Medieval Quarter, and Piccadilly Gardens)
• Manchester Engineering Campus Development (MECD) – £30m
• St Michael’s – £27.5m
• Airport City North – £7.5m
• Citylabs 4.0 – £5m
• Innovation Factory – £5m
• Craft and Design Centre Redevelopment – £5m
• Airport City South – £3.6m
• Didsbury Technology Park – £2.15
• Al Turing R&D centre – £1.5m
• Viadux – £1m
• Active travel – including improved walking and cycling provision at Deansgate (£9.5m, covering related construction too); Cambridge Street, Ancoats)

The plan also proposes investment in several city centre cultural institutions and start-up incubation hubs, including £12m for Crossley House Creative Industries Centre; £4.5m for the Science and Industry Museum; £2.5m for the Z Arts Centre; £5m for Space Studios, and £8.5m for Campfield Yard.

Additional funding is proposed for healthy living and low-carbon initiatives, such as £4m for a citywide plastics recycling initiative, £5m for the International Centre for Health Ageing, £2m for the Carbon Literacy for the Net Zero Economy project, and £2m for the Environmental Action Programme, among others.

The total funding ask is £798.8m.

Place North West has reported further details about Manchester City Council’s economic recovery plan today. The strategy is being unveiled shortly after Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spending Review announcement.

Manchester City Council aims to digest the announcement and work out where it could expect to receive funding from Whitehall to support its investment plan. It will then compile a formal bid for additional support based on the above propositions.