MIPIM | Gensler eyes Northern growth amid cities boom

Socks, spice, and stadia.

With the end of the convention in sight, Muse’s managing director, Phil Mayall, Tom Bloxham of Urban Splash, and igloo regeneration’s senior development manager, Insiyah Khushnood gave their final reflections on the big week.

Over the last few years Bolton Council has taken a more proactive approach to regeneration as it builds up to the town’s most transformational project – Crompton Place.

From data centres in Blackpool to space centres in Newcastle, a panel of Northern leaders set out their investment propositions on the global stage and discussed how the North can work together to make them a reality.

Sports-led redevelopment has been a key theme of MIPIM, with both Liverpool and Manchester touting stadium projects at the conference.

WSP’s head of digital innovation, Dale Sinclair, sat down with Place North’s Sally Gibson at MIPIM to discuss how the company’s kit-of-parts approach is improving construction productivity and efficiency.

The private equity firm acquired the 350,000 sq ft One Hardman Boulevard in Spinningfields in late 2023 and is setting about repositioning it into one of the city’s best office buildings while keeping one eye on more opportunities to invest.

Positive steps taken towards reinvigorating housebuilding by the government nine months into its term are not to be sniffed at – but does the ambition match the reality on the ground? Place North’s MIPIM breakfast conference focused on this topic with a panel of private and public sector experts.

The 450-acre innovation district has revealed further plans and is seeking investment for the development of Health Innovation Liverpool, a £550m collaboration with NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, as well as its Artificial Intelligence Materials Hub for Innovation, or AIM-HI venture.

Having revealed plans for a new line connecting Liverpool and Manchester last year, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and his Liverpool City Region counterpart Steve Rotheram took the stage in Cannes to hammer home the impact the infrastructure project could have to assembled investors.

The UK’s biggest propco has piled into the North West in a big way in recent years, investing more than £1bn to acquire MediaCity, Mayfield, and Liverpool ONE. Place North West caught up with the firm’s chief executive, who was attending his first MIPIM since 2017.

Stronger partnerships, being willing to take more risks, and adopting off-site manufacturing at scale were all posited as ways the North can deliver better schemes at pace at a Place North panel session on the UK Stage at MIPIM.

The international brand appeal of Manchester United FC and the emergence of development potential in the surrounding area make Old Trafford an extremely attractive regeneration prospect, according to Savills director Jeremy Hinds and Trafford Council Leader Tom Ross.

Working with GMCA and developer partner Peel Land, the local authorities envisage delivery of 9,000 homes, 3.7m sq ft of industrial space, and 312,000 sq ft of offices by 2035.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham reiterated that the club’s new home would receive zero public funding while Manchester United COO Collette Roche told Place North West she is sure the club can find the money to finance the 100,000-capacity project without state backing.

Wigan Council has laid the foundations for large-scale development in its borough and now is the time to deliver, according to the council’s director of place Aidan Thatcher.

Local authority leaders and decision-makers held court on the Place North stand on Tuesday 11 March to set their stalls out for the week.

Eamonn Boylan is hoping to restructure the way the organisation works from within and leave a lasting legacy that will provide a springboard for delivery when he vacates his post for the next permanent chief executive of the government’s housing and regeneration agency.

Manchester City Council remains in “regular, active conversations” with the Labour government about the relocation of  HMP Manchester to clear the site for wider redevelopment, and said that plans “would have to be amended if the prison does stay”, indicating progress has been made during talks.