North West developments to watch out for in 2026
As the page turns to 2026, the region remains the country’s benchmark for regional development and regeneration. More is on the way – Eden Project Morecambe, Festival Gardens, and Old Trafford are just a few of the many upcoming projects that are set to make headlines in the new year.
The first Pall Mall office building could complete by 2028. Credit: via planning documents
Pall Mall, Liverpool
What is it?
A long-stalled Liverpool City Council office scheme, with Kier Property on board as the developer.
Across the full project, three buildings comprising 341000 sq ft of offices and a 284-bed hotel would be built.
The scheme would be the first new-build grade A space in the city’s Central Business District in 13 years.
Phase one is the development of a 111,000 sq ft office block.
Where are they at?
In June, the city council agreed to use £15m of government funding to kick-start the first phase and entice investors, a deal that also includes a rental guarantee to increase the asset’s investment value.
What’s next?
At the start of December, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor Steve Rotheram announced the city would set up its first mayoral development corporation to assist the development of a clutch of schemes, including Pall Mall.
It is hoped that the MDC will unlock the land and streamline planning processes to allow further development to proceed in 2026.
The land around the £2bn New Trafford is earmarked for transformation. Credit: Foster + Partners
Old Trafford masterplan
What is it?
The £7bn 400-acre Old Trafford regeneration project is being drawn up by Allies and Morrison, of Kings Cross and Barbican fame, with Manchester United’s £2bn ‘Wembley of the North’ at its heart.
Led by the Old Trafford Mayoral Development Corporation, the project aims to deliver 15,000 homes in the area around Old Trafford.
Where are they at?
Karen Hirst has been appointed to lead the Old Trafford MDC. She has a decade of experience with Maple Grove and has been praised for her work at Salford Quays.
Manchester United’s £2bn stadium ambitions remain yet to be fully realised. Cost concerns have led project leaders to question the viability of the Forster + Partners’ three-pronged canopy concept.
The club and neighbour Freightliner see a £350m difference in the land value of the rail freight terminal to the stadium’s west – a 250-acre swathe of land required for a new-build stadium.
What’s next?
Discussion continues over funding, stadium designs, and the Freightliner issue.
The Old Trafford MDC will have to make a deal with the rail company, though it cannot rely on the financial help of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Despite concerns, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has repeatedly insisted that public funds will not be used to support the project and that the Red Devils will need to find the money themselves.
The Eden Project Morecambe will be built on the old Bubbles leisure centre site on the town’s north-facing promenade. Credit: Grimshaw
Morecambe masterplan
What is it?
Lancaster City Council is preparing a tourism-focused masterplan for the town with the £100m Eden Project Morecambe as its economic centrepiece.
Where are they up to?
Work on Eden Project Morecambe, which is seen as the catalyst to bring investors into the town, will begin in early 2026 – the LK Group has already completed ground investigation work.
A contractor for the attraction has yet to be appointed, but talks are at an advanced stage, according to Eden.
The Morecambe masterplan remains ‘emerging’ but is expected to be unveiled in the first half of 2026.
What’s next?
Lancaster City Council and the Eden Project Morecambe team will begin to harden their pitches to investors, who are now being actively courted to invest in the town.
In addition, the city council is continuing to search for a development partner for its Frontierland site, which the local authority sees as a lucrative opportunity for a mixed-use scheme.
Brock Carmichael is leading on design for the first proposed tower at King Edward Triangle. Credit: via Merrion Strategy
King Edward Triangle
What is it?
Davos Property Developments and Beetham Group have teamed up to bring a new round of skyscrapers to Liverpool’s waterfront, with ambitions for the tallest to be around 60 storeys. Situated on the King Edward Triangle Industrial Estate, the scheme could include 2,750 homes, 400 hotel rooms, 200,000 sq ft of offices, and 250,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space.
Where are they up to?
Plans were submitted in July for the first tower in the skyscraper cluster, a 28-storey complex with 255 apartments off Waterloo Road.
What’s next?
Davos and Beetham are aiming to submit the masterplan for King Edward Triangle by the second quarter of this year.
The scheme would be delivered over the next 15 years. Credit: Jon Matthews Architects
Pomona Island masterplan
What is it?
The 25-acre island in the Irwell has been touted as a development opportunity since 2021.
Jon Matthews Architects’ designs show the island could provide 2,600 homes, including 100 care beds, 200 hotel rooms, potential student provision, and 750,000 sq ft of flexible office and retail space.
Plans show 15 acres of public space would also be provided. Two Metrolink stops, Cornbrook and Pomona, bookend the site.
Where are they up to?
Peel Waters’ proposals have now been studied by consultees and outline plans have been fleshed out. The consultation ended in October.
What’s next?
Peel Waters’ outline application to Trafford Council is likely to be heard in the new year.
Tim Groom Architects is behind the designs for 300 homes on the site of the car park. Credit: via MCC
Church Street car park
What is it?
Glenbrook was selected by MCC in July to deliver 300 homes to the Northern Quarter site.
Tim Groom Architects has designed the block to replace the multi-storey car park, which stands on 1.5 acres off Church Street.
Up to 20% of the homes are to be affordable. The scheme features four public squares, a flexible community and gallery space, and commercial units for local independent businesses and food and beverage outlets.
Where are they up to?
Glenbrook’s plans were favoured by the city council over underbidders Ask Real Estate and McLaren.
What’s next?
Manchester City Council will sell the site to Glenbrook, subject to completed legal agreements and planning permission in the new year.
Fiddler’s Ferry’s northern cooling towers were demolished in late 2023. The remaining four southern towers are coming down in 2026. Credit: Peel NRE
Fiddler’s Ferry
What is it?
Peel NRE is redeveloping the 800-acre former Warrington power plant to host around 250 acres of employment space, 860 homes, and parkland.
Where are they at?
The 1.5m sq ft industrial phase one has been approved by Warrington Council. The four-shed scheme is expected to create up to 845 jobs on its 99-acre footprint.
DSM Demolition has been selected to carry out the clearance of the 800-acre site, which won’t be rounded off until 2027.
What’s next?
The last cooling towers will be demolished at the end of 2026. Meanwhile, Peel NRE expects the delivery of the residential aspect of the scheme to begin in 2026. The first round of 150 homes is due to be complete by 2030.
The skyscraper will be Manchester’s tallest. Credit: via planning documents
Nobu Manchester/Viadux 2
What is it?
Set to become Manchester’s tallest skyscraper, and the tallest residential tower in the UK at 76-storeys – Salboy’s £360m Viadux 2 hit headlines after securing a deal with hotelier Nobu, part-owned by A-lister Robert De Niro.
The agreement will see 452 luxury Nobu-branded residences, a ground floor Nobu restaurant, and a 160-key five-star hotel delivered within the SimpsonHaugh Architects-designed skyscraper, which will rise above Deansgate Metrolink station.
Where are they at?
Manchester rolled out the red carpet for Robert De Niro when he touched down for a quick stay in Manchester to join in the ground-breaking ceremony, before handing the task of building over to Domis.
What’s next?
Domis will continue laying foundations before progressing on to the smaller affordable block. Construction is due to begin in 2026, with the contractor hoping to finish the skyscraper before the end of 2031.
The council bought the 280,000 sq ft centre, which faces Bolton town hall, in 2018. Credit: Bolton Council
Crompton Place
What is it?
Bolton Council’s plan to redevelop the 280,000 sq ft former shopping centre into a £200m mixed-use scheme is moving forward.
The local authority believes the development has the capacity to deliver 340 homes, a 110-key hotel, 80,000 sq ft of office space, and 5,000 sq ft of leisure space.
Where are they up to?
Bolton Council is continuing its search for a development partner to bring forward the mixed-use scheme.
The council permitted the shopping centre’s demolition in August, which is expected to take 50 weeks to complete.
What’s next?
Bolton Council will continue its search for a partner into the new year. A tender notice offers a contract starting from April 2026 to 2029, with a possible 20-year extension.
Urban Splash and Igloo Regeneration have unveiled plans for the brownfield site. Credit: via LCC
Festival Gardens
What is it?
The 27-acre brownfield plot on the banks of the Mersey is considered one of the most exciting residential regeneration opportunities in the country.
Liverpool City Council acquired the site for £6m in 2015, with plans to ultimately bring forward up to 800 homes.
Where are they at?
Liverpool City Council has selected a joint venture between Urban Splash and Igloo Regeneration to lead the development of the site.
The joint venture unveiled in September its vision for phase one of the development, which would feature 440 homes, including an 80-bed extra care scheme and 110 affordable homes.
What’s next?
A planning application for the 440-home first phase is expected late next year. Work on phase one is due to begin in spring 2027, subject to approval.
The JV will work with other firms to bring the plans forward – Alpha Living is due to deliver the care scheme, and Regenda Homes will manage the affordable properties.
TOWN is lined up to develop a co-housing scheme, while Starship has selected to deliver modular homes. Six different architects are being utilised to create the development.
King Edward Triangle in Liverpool is the one to watch.
By Graham Bennett
How did King Edward Triangle not make the list? Isn’t that supposed to be getting submitted early next year?
By Anonymous
You are quite right! King Edward Triangle should definitely be on this list – especially because its masterplan is due to be submitted before the end of Q2 next year (we’ll be refreshing Liverpool’s planning portal every day this spring in anticipation!). I’ve updated the story to include the project.
By Julia Hatmaker
I suspect that 90% of these schemes won’t move a muscle in 2026.
By Anonymous
Nothing expected for King Edward Triangle then? I’d be hoping for some more significant movement there and some actual plans for buildings around the infrastructure underway at Central Docks.
By L17
Masterplan due to be submitted in Q2. I’ve updated the story to include King Edward Triangle – as it is definitely a project to watch this year!
By Julia Hatmaker
No mention of King Edward Triangle?
By Anonymous
The year is 2046, it’s twenty years since Steve Rotherham’s first Mayoral Development Corporation meeting. Liverpool has been down graded to town status. Meanwhile the City boundary of Manchester now extents to Sefton, Knowsley and Halton. Manchester is now the Capital of the north with a GDP equal to that of London. Farcical as this seems, it is more plausible than expecting Rotheram and his circus to achieve anything on an economic scale remotely close to Manchester. Although I still live in hope.
By Stephen Hart
Love this format!
By Anonymous
Old Trafford master plan includes a totally immoral construction of a freightliner distribution estate occupying 100s and 100s of good greenbelt farmland amongst four small villages with broken road systems. It will operate 24/7 with 100s of hgv’s in and out a day. How much will all that cost the taxpayer? Note that Andy Burnham never mentions the cost to the people who live there nor Seb (wonderful) Coe, and Jim Radcliffe et al. The whole thing is immoral
By StSimon
King Edward Triangle Liverpool is going to be the real game changer ??????
By Anonymous
Agreed. We’ve updated the story to include King Edward Triangle – it should definitely have been on the list!
By Julia Hatmaker
Might just be me but it’s Manchester versus Liverpool for the most unimaginative redevelopment along the waterfront at Festival Gardens and Pomona Island.
People want to look out to water, neither proposal maximises the opportunity. Attractive architecture with waterfront views are missing from both plans. Festival Gardens seems to be actively hiding the blandness behind trees, when it could be making a strong statement, with more, ahem, garden in amongst the buildings. Both speak of a dreadful lack of imagination as to how to maximise waterfront/planting with modern design in key sites within each city.
Neither would attract visitors to look at what could be exceptionally attractive neighbourhoods.
By MJC
You never know Lancaster might actually see a start of the Canal Quarter Regeneration in 2026 but going off the the city Council’s past record 2036 seems more likely, if ever. I would be very surprised if anything happens with Frontierland, it has only been 25 years since it closed!
By Dom