Liverpool City Region Development Update 2025 | Summary + gallery

Wigan Council has submitted its long-awaited plans to bring the grade two-listed hall into public use and establish it as a cultural destination of national significance by 2027.

There are less than 24 hours to go until Place North West’s annual Liverpool City Region summit. Moved to a larger venue due to high demand for tickets, the event will offer the opportunity to network with the likes of Homes England, Rothschild & Co, Willmott Dixon, and Placefirst.

Fortune favours the brave when it comes to making historic buildings low-carbon and energy-efficient, writes Iain Shaw of Max Fordham.

The whir of machinery and the hiss of steam engines are returning to the Manchester attraction after being quiet for six years.

Liverpool’s uneasy relationship with tall buildings is nothing new, with debates reigniting every few years over whether they enrich or erode the city’s character, writes Darren Muir of Pegasus Group.

Kohinoor Banqueting has applied to Rochdale Council to change the use of the nearly 200-year-old derelict conservative club off Long Street into a 350-capacity wedding, community, and events venue.

Citing worries over construction costs and viability, Rossendale Council has opted to rework the revamp of the market – delaying the Levelling Up Fund project by a year.

Harland and Poston Group is to undertake a multi-phase renovation of the high-end Sefton hotel to modernise its facilities.

A sell-out crowd at Bridgewater Hall was treated to the thoughts of property and development specialists from across Greater Manchester on the battles being fought in the city region.

Routes have been revealed for the 100-mile walking and wheeling network, which may eventually stretch from Dunham Massey as far as the foothills of the Pennines.

Proposals to replace facilities no longer fit for purpose at the Manchester cancer hospital and deliver a new 15,300 sq ft pathology centre have been lodged with the local authority.

Former Aecom director Stephen Gleave will chair the 35 strong panel, with MCAU’s Ernst ter Horst installed as vice chair.

Architect Levitt Bernstein, in collaboration with low energy specialist Etude, has developed a three-part document package for Greater Manchester Combined Authority, to help applicants comply with the joint spatial plan’s sustainability aims.

Developer Capital&Centric and main contractor Workspace Design & Build have finished transforming the 1970s Brutalist block into 32,000 sq ft of modern workspace.

All of the shares in the architectural practice are now in an employee ownership trust, a move that aligns with the group’s B Corporation status.

A legal agreement has been reached between Wyre and Blackpool councils and the football club, finalising full consent for plans approved a year ago – but the club has indicated there is still no timeframe for the development.

Placed on Historic England’s heritage at risk register more than 13 years ago, the blighted Empress Conservation Area in Old Trafford is now the subject of an attempt to “stimulate investment”.

Liverpool City Council has set out a supplementary planning document providing detailed guidance on how prospective development should intertwine with the city’s extensive cultural and heritage assets.

There has been no shortage of announcements during an eventful first year in power for Keir Starmer’s party but the industry, while largely positive about the last 12 months, is awaiting detail about how promises will become reality before passing judgement.