Piccadilly Gardens to be fenced off for 18 months

Great that progress is being made, however as of today (28/1/26) the Gardens are actively being re-turfed. Will the turf have just 4 weeks of use?!

Hopefully the fencing comes down at Albert Sq before then, otherwise tourists and visitors alike are going to be wondering why the British seemingly fence off any open space to be found..

How many more times are they going to try to remodel this in order to make it work??

BuildaBear. Last remodelling was 25 years ago, when was the last time before that? 1930s?

The gardens have become notorious as a crime ridden area, something needs to be done to change this image.

Investigations and surveys for what?
They’ve built and rebuilt the gardens a number of times, has massive big wheel on it. Fencing it all for 18months!! Why not 1 half then the other? . Is this going to be another Town Hall fiasco Late and massively over budget. Charlie Dimmock could do better, quicker

Waste of money. They will just move the problem to some other place. The people causing problems will still cause problems elsewhere. Until the authorities give these people severe sentences for various wrongdoings, it will not change anything. Build more prisons and also punish drug users. Drugs are the main societal issue we have

Looking at the application, there appear to be two phases of hoarding, with phase 1 covering the fountain and the area that hasn’t been re-turfed. I didn’t see any dates for the second phase, but at a guess the re-turfed areas might see the summer.

Increase the amount of grass.. looks nice on a render, in reality, worn out muddy patches once again with lots of upkeep needed. Best to pave it like the lovely Albert Square with plants and trees around the sides.

18 months!!!
For investigative & enabling works only. Wow.

Pahaha. MCC probably trying to work out what else they can build on it. Theyve totally lost understanding of what OPEN and PUBLIC space is all about.

When I was a kid I used to dream about getting rich then in later life use all the money to build open spaces for ‘the people’. It’s a good job I’ve not ended up rich, I’d be gutted to gift a park to a City Council and see them do this with it!

It’s about time I remember when Manchester was great it’s a shame how it’s gone a proud Mancunian bring the gardens back for families as it use to be

Dumb idea. They never learn. This is not a good location to house a garden. Pave over it. Greate a European paved square

If they hadn’t f…….d it up in the first place they could have saved millions.

Time to make this a Feature which will Bring Tourists to Manchester. Build Dome over it and create a Paradise with Manchester’s Past and Future. Throw ideas and designs open to all.

Manchester is a no go place for me now to much violence about

Really do not get why the council think putting more grass in that space is a good idea. It has never, ever worked.

Trees and smart paving should be the only solution. Gardens will just be destroyed

Also that is not the place for a playground.

Honestly why can’t we get this place right. Should be renamed Picadily square

Also the “garden” back in to Piccadilly gardens will fail
Immediately and become mud. Pave it and embrace the continental European style

It’s a shame that the food market is closing too! Some good businesses there. Hope they all get the assistance needing relocating!

About time put the gardens back how they used to be instead of the disgusting concrete jungle

Rather than spout the usual ill and misinformed negativity, give M.C.C the opportunity to return the gardens to it’s former glory. Confident the 2 phased redevelopment will flush out any lingering doubts people of Manchester and beyond have in Piccadilly Gardens.

Just build a load of shops and apartments and be done with it, its an absolute stain on the city

Put a building on it.

Make Manchester great again.

Build a skyscraper on it.

More grass to relay every year after turning to mud does nobody listen

About time

The old concrete wall was a disaster & has cost the City thousands to build ..now as it’s not fit for purpose .& The area has to be re developed again at huge public expense ..what a waste of time & money …

What Piccadilly Gardens needs to become is a modern European paved square with a small architecturally aesthetic fountain and planting. None of this, playgrounds, mounds of tuff, multi functional events space nonsense. It will just get trashed. Tado Ando got it wrong!

If it’s anything like the Town Hall renovation,it will go well over budget .
Before you know ,it will be a giant car park

The city needs a green space for people to go to and this is long overdue! Get Alan Titchmarsh involved, he will know how to make it an enjoyable green space for all ages!

Improve security, that’s the real answer!

Classic style foundation, with flower beds, tree’s and seats around. Make it like a beautiful European style garden park. The trams should have gone underground here and the surface used as part of the gardens.

Great to see the garden being rejuvenated, but being d=fenced off for 18 months is ridiculous. Either the Council are trying to divert the anti-social behaviour that plagues this garden or the Council are being taken for mugs because it should only take 3 – 4 months for ground investigations.

Agree this should be a paved, plaza-type space. The grass has never worked and will continually need replacing. Hopefully Parker Street bus terminus and the bus loop at the bottom of Oldham Street can be relocated as part of the masterplan so the plaza can be extended.

This has been a disaster from day 1. The wall was obnoxious. I thought it was going to be enhanced. But no, just left a bare concrete Berlin type wall. The fountains must have cost a fortune. Ripping out the old gardens and filling in the hole left must have been expensive. The architect really deserves naming and shaming.

It doesn’t need more patchy grass, the old gardens was a garden not a lawn, it needs trees and flowerbeds not areas for dossers to congregate

This is great news after years of neglect to the gardens, an embarrassing eyesore to Manchester. Glad to hear something is being done.

Sadly my experience of the gardens is quite negative (crime ridden) and any remodelling must attempt to change its reputation and the behaviour of users. Good luck.

It’s been a druggies/drunks paradise for years and I’ve worked in Manchester since the 80s. Much prefer Liverpool.

Is this just another way of selling a part of it off? Let it get run down enough with under policing that people are happy that it’s not there anymore. It was about twice the size and quiet before the last remodel. Let’s see what’s left after this one…

Back to how it was originally No wonder council taxes are so high.

Why can’t they use the ground conditions survey they did last time it was remodelled? Did someone lose it?

So, we’re going to “do something” to the gardens again… how exciting. Because nothing says progress like another round of cosmetic tinkering with a space no one actually dares to use, unless, of course, you’re in the market for drugs, violence, or any other charmingly nefarious pastime.
As for it being a pleasant place to meet and enjoy lunch, as it once was back in the mists of time when it was actually safe; well, that ship sailed long ago. And let’s be honest, tossing in a few new bricks, some concrete, a patch of grass, and maybe a shiny pane of glass isn’t exactly the magic recipe to bring it back.
What we need is a complete root‑and‑branch transformation of society itself. A return to the high‑trust world we nostalgically talk about but haven’t seen in decades. This square, this garden, take your pick, is just one more example of the countless spaces across Europe where the intended amenity has been quietly confiscated by an “alternative society,” leaving the rest of us to admire the renovations from a safe distance.

You cant polish a t urd…

This is all well and good, but where are the drug dealers going to deal and where are the young immigrants going to congregate? Where will the homeless hang out and sleep? This isnt going to the solve the actual problems in Crackadilly Gardens that everyone seems to be avoiding.

Build an ice Rink much needed facility in the Manchester centre ,the Christmas rink is such a successful feature once a year ,so make it permanent

The people are the problem

Should have left it as it was!! Blooming beautiful it was

Make it into a four or five storey building, where there is food provision, by reputable companies. If the building base is square, and there sufficient monitoring provision, then the crime rate – in Piccadilly, at least – should be reduced. After a certain time, lock all entrances, leaving just one, if fire regs permit it, and also have Doormen to do what only they do best. That space in Manchester will always be problematic, unless there’s a building there.

Just fence it off. Use razor wire.

It has been a disgusting place with groups of ferral youths and drug dealing all in daylight i took my 4 year old daughter last summer for a picnic never again ! Its a blight on beautiful Manchester ! Needs a play area with a sand pit would be lovely and picnic benches please?

I hope they’re building a police station on there 😂

There used to be lovely gardens years ago. Some people in high up Council positions just love wasting Tax payer’s money. Its makes me sick to my stomach.

Just think of the money that could have been saved by just leaving the gardens as they were in the 50s just beautiful.

You need to change the people that use it, not so much the gardens.

Way about time it was perfect in the 70s through to mid 80s hope the new plans look as similar to that of the older beautiful appearance & sustainability

I can’t wait for the new garden to be complete; it will have shipping containers with a bar on it in no time.

It’s almost like they don’t understand – just have it do one thing well. Pave it and make it a civic square like St. Peter’s, Alberts, etc. Trees, fine. Even some planters, fine. Grass, not!

It is a public disgrace that so much money has already been spent on Piccadilly Gardens which has only resulted in an area to be avoided. I hope the new plans will return it to an area where local people and visitors can feel relaxed and comfortable

There are some rose tinted glasses being worn by some of todays contributors. The old Piccadilly gardens were indeed attractive with a sunken garden and beautiful flowers and trees. I can remember as a kid in the 1970s that people could hire deckchairs to sit in the sun on their lunch break. By the 1990s, however, the feel and use of the gardens had changed. The sunken gardens, flowers and trees were still in place however it had already been taken over by an unsavoury element who thrived being out of sight in the sunken part of the gardens. I assume the design of the current gardens was meant to provide more transparency and surveillance points for the authorities. Unfortunately for a number of decades the police and council seem to have abandoned any management of the area allowing the unsavoury element to thrive even more. The council can spend many millions of pounds over the next few years trying to improve the gardens but if the ongoing management continues to fail it will be a complete waste of money.

This sounds amazing 🤩 I remember it used to be such a welcoming and beautiful place in the heart of the city centre but now it’s people fighting taking drugs and just causing problems I hope to see the outcome and bring the heart back to Manchester

As long as there are plenty of flowers I will be happy. Flowers upon flowers upon flowers. The more flowers the better because I say that’s what the people want and that’s what I will be giving them.

Bring back the gardens of the nineties. Nothing else will suffice. And demolish that red brick eye sore building.

How much money have they spent over the years it’s called Piccadilly gardens for a reason. This should be a fabulous garden to relax police the area and make it safe.

It was beautiful when I was young, all that money wasted & it just looks Ugly

A mixed bag of comments as expected mainly negative of course. I think the main point is that the council hasn’t spent enough money on the Gardens over the years because they have their budget cut every year. So it just deteriorates over time. Its reached the bottom now and it’s time.e to spend some real dosh……..let’s hope they’ve got it

Why re-turf a designated building site !?!