Plans unveiled to ‘put the gardens back into Piccadilly Gardens’

idiocy

Well, they’ve struggled to get any grass to grow there for 20 years, maybe doubling down might work? Bring your wellies.

Crime and antisocial behavior is the number one concern for locals ,visitors and tourist so without dealing with this major issue properly ,we are just throwing away good money at the Gardens. I would like to see plan for dealing with this issue once and for all and i believe its time for the council to get tough with the homeless and drug dealers who spoil this once lovely part of Manchester.

Great that they’re sorting it out and listening to people in the city on green space, especially with the CyanLines launch too. I think I saw that a permanent police presence will be incorporated too which sounds sensible. Still feels to me like they’re trying to do too much with quite a complicated spot but looking forward to seeing the overall vision when it’s released.

Wasn’t optimistic about this, but I think they’ve managed to get it almost spot on. There are trees dotted around Piccadilly Gardens, but you’d be forgiven for thinking they didn’t exist. They get lost. This new design really brings them to life and gives them prominence.

Very pleasantly surprised.

Looking at the images its not exactly groundbreaking in design terms. However in all honesty is not the design the truly matters here, its the users of the spaces. It turned into a drug dealing hangout. Proper enforcement and police patrols required otherwise any new design is doomed to fail.

I’m trying not to be negative with this one. The photo of the gardens from years ago that gets banded about was a moment in time and I’m not saying it can’t work but the council have barely looked after the grass and the fountain was never maintained. The tulips in the picture on the corner wouldn’t last 5 minutes without low fencing. Scrubs for all year green would be needed

Whatever the design – It just needs a permanent presence of police, PSCO or some form of security to keep it safe. No design is going to change the social issues of this area (which are now internationally famous due to many viral videos of anti-social behaviour being documented). I hope it proves a success..

People (especially middle class property professionals) love to have a go at Piccadilly Gardens. But it struggles maintenance wise because it is so well used. It takes a hammering almost every day of the year. It’s no surprise that the grass struggles to grow. It is also one of the only places in Manchester where all classes and the good and the bad of the city actually come together – it is a reflection of the current economic circumstances of the city, with the negative aspects down to years of austerity, underfunding in education and public services including youth services – not because of the early noughties design of the gardens. It’s no surprise again therefore that it makes some people rushing through on their way back to Bowdon or West Didsbury uncomfortable. For me therefore, in the design, it will be important to ensure there is good capacity (flowerbeds reduce this) and proper, regular, daily maintenance as there can’t be that many other public spaces in the City that are used so much to warrant it. But generally, the visuals look good, bring it on.

I don’t understand the persistence with grass and planting beds. It’s a central city square in the north of England. It should be a high quality hard paved square with greenery provided by trees

I think this is an incredibly positive step forward first and foremost because of a permeant and visible police presence. Improvements can only follow from dealing with the ASB. Good luck with the grass, hope there’s been some creative use of rougher foliage to steer desire lines away from the lawns. I love the render though!

They need to pedestrianise the bus loop around Morrisons & divert those buses elsewhere

Please just strip everything out and pave it, like they do in most European cities. Most of its problems with vanish overnight, and at a fraction of the cost.

Ground breaking design is not what was needed here, a simple solution to an area with complex issues.

Very welcome and looks like theyre on the right lines. I hope I’ve misinterpreted something though and it’s not going to cost £25mil for that, because that would be absurd.

The presence of the police is a must and good to see (see Time Square NY for a perfect example). Getting the use of the space and safety right is more important than another redesign. I do wish they would stop building on the space, it doesn’t need another building on it!! One of the existing buildings should have been made into a Police Station.

As the most talked about (and not for goods reasons) part of the city centre for years, this former treasure can only be returned to some of its former glory by a multi agency approach . It’s well documented what the problems are here and flowers alone won’t change that. It’s good that they are at last doing something. The issues seem complex but Lord this has dragged on longer than I’ve had teeth.

Will hopefully work but not if they carry on covering the space over at regular intervals for fan zones, bars, ice rinks.

@anonymous 9.55 im guessing from the article the multi agency base will be aimed at tackling the various anti social behavioursupport PG had been prone to in recent years

Whatever the faults of the current public realm, this isn’t the cause of the Gardens being riddled with crime and anti-social behaviour, so it’s hard to see what making the area prettier will actually do, unless drug dealers are particularly sensitive to grass pollen, which would explain why, looking at the renders, someone thinks this is a good spot for a wildflower meadow.

How many more times are they going to try to rework this?

Whilst this looks very lovely I would question the suitability of this as the main square in a growing city centre. Some greening would help the space but how well will grass areas hold up in winter time and will it just need maintenance and replacing constantly. Piccadilly gardens to me should be what trafalgar square is to London (yes I know we do things differently up here) an all weather space with good sightlines which is adaptable for events ie largely open plan just my opinion

If they cannot sort out the anti social behaviour challenges in and around Piccadilly Gardens then don’t spend a penny, scrap what’s there and bring back the hospital that was there 100 years ago – a better use for the space!!

The most important thing Piccadilly Gardens needs is a local Police station or kiosk to make it safer and cut the crime and anti-social behaviour.

Needs a small police station there

I hope this is just an interim use because this proposal is nonsense.

Who exactly have they spoken to? I don’t recall any public consultations in the recent past. I can only assume they’re going off the BTL comments in the MEN and the whims of a councillor because acres of flat turf and flowers will not work. It doesn’t work now, it looks ugly, is unusable for most of the year and gets churned up. Also I presume those flowers are plastic because again, you’ll just be looking at mud out of season.

The only sensible solution it in for Piccadilly is the sort of design they’re implementing at Albert Square, namely a smart, durable, safe and attractive PAVED space.

Looks good but will be a waste of money if the criminal element associated with Piccadilly Gardens isn’t sorted out.

Great that they have got the police presence – its not great for visitors to the city going for the train in the evening especially if they have been to something after work etc. BUT Manchester City Council AND Liverpool City Council need to address matters at the core homelessness and drug issues- instead of planting gardens. Liverpool City Council doing the same with London Road which is near Lime St – some of the people designing these spaces would benefit from using these places at various times of the day and night and understanding them better. Hoping elements of secure by design and visibility are being taken into account – all for green space in the city etc – but needs to be safe and friendly enough for people to use it!

Images are a positive aspiration. MCC Press release indicates that physical improvements will be backed up with increased Council land GMP resources, which will be required. Worth noting that some of the physical infrastructure, like the wall / planters along Piccadilly contribute to / make criminality and anti social behaviour had to tackle. Will be glad to see the back of the food market from its current location.

This is rubbish.
Not one blade of grass will survive. It will be a mud bath for 9 months of the year and a dust bowl for the rest. It should be paved with large mature tree planting to provide shade when needed.

Is there an aerial site layout plan?
Will they be staging less events there? The amount of planting is redundant when it gets constantly killed by the Council having boarding over it for months at a time.

Why on earth are they looking to have even more grass? It ia currently a constant mess.

Plus why on earth would there be a playground in the supposed premier square of the city.

Great that something ia done and want it to succeed but worried that what is being done just isn’t viable

Be good if they could re-open Moseley Street tram stop as an island platform and divert the buses that use the current lane down New York Street.

I remember the Piccadilly Gardens growing up and my parents walking me through them, it was a beautiful safe space even in the 80s when I started working in Picaddily at 18 I felt safe.. Now I dont and every time I visit I avoid the gardens and the ugly wall that drunks use to pee on. Please put the High standards back , Life in the 70s and 80s was not perfect but we respected our City Centre.

I remember the Piccadilly Gardens of old. I used to work in offices overlooking the gardens and walked through them everyday from the bus station. They were beautiful and very well maintained by the gardeners who seemed to work from the large onsite shed. I would love to see the gardens reinstated. My worry is, with all the cutbacks in maintaining public places and possibly the lack of experienced gardeners that the gardens will deteriote and become neglected once again. That would be a shame, as well as a terrible waste of a very large budget.

Delusional!

That’s a lot of grass for an area of high football with a lot of people who tend not to read “keep off the grass” signs. I hope someone’s thought about that…

Would be nice if it gave the feel of a European park something you’d see in Spain and something that is worth visiting, somewhere that you feel safe and comfortable. Some sort of old school fountain should be incorporated to take your focus away from the nose of the city.

A play space for children sounds positive – if this is high quality and goes beyond the offer in other locations, it could attract a user group which would positively contribute to the space and have a continued day time prescence. Agree re surveillance and policing.

Please forget the flexible events space, that will just turn it into a mosh pit rather than a mud pit. A garden is a garden. Manchester has enough gathering spots for selling tat, and hotdogs, and we don’t need another one. It doesn’t need to be a Winter Wonderland ,at Christmas, or an extension to Pride, it needs to be a garden, where people can sit down, read, and admire the foliage. When is this city going to learn, that less is more. No big wheels, or Padel Courts, just a smallish city centre park.

@Anonymois 11:13am . The problems of the gardens absolutely ARE a reflection of the 90s redesign. It was never appropriate to dedicate so much surface area to flat turf and an ugly black granite disc for a fountain. This renders a good 50% of the ‘garden’ unusable for most of the year and unsightly once it gets churned up. The experience of passing through churned-up muddy grass is a depressing one. It was basically designed to look good from above, in other words to make the new office space in 1 Piccadilly Gardens are more attractive proposition however it never worked very well at ground level.

Bin the turf and pave it over.

Sunk-cost fallacy …

October 20, 2025 at 3:07 am By Katie
..a place for children… Are you short a few slices?!.. Its Piccadilly gardens.. only if you want to educate them about everything you should do avoid in life..
otherwise stride through or avoid entirely.