An exhibition of Spinningfields, held at Manchester Town Hall in February, laid down the blueprint for the renaissance of the area of Manchester bounded by Deansgate, Bridge Street, Quay Street and the River Irwell.

The 8.90 ha mixed use scheme features ten major office buildings, together with new City Magistrates Courts, two impressive luxury hotels, several residential apartment buildings, a new college for Manchester College of Arts and Technology and a unique array of shops, restaurants and bars.

A number of buildings in the area will be retained, including the Pumphouse Museum, Gartside Street multi-storey car park, the Opera House and other buildings fronting Quay Street. The existing Crown Courts will also be retained, but will be extended at the Hardman Street end, onto part of the area occupied by the existing Magistrates’ Court.

John Rylands Library, which houses one of the most spectacular collections of rare books and manuscripts in the world, will gain a new entrance building, replacing the current grey brick extension. The new building will include a wheelchair accessible lift along with catering and retailing facilities.

The area will be opened up with new direct links established between Deansgate and the River Irwell. These links will open up more public space, much of which will be along a pedestrian boulevard running from the side of the Opera House down to the Irwell, parallel with New Quay Street. This will pass through two new squares – Hardman Square and Irwell Square- before linking with a new pedestrian footbridge across the river.

Work on the first phase of the scheme should start within the next 12 months. This covers the construction of a new, 18,588 sq m Magistrates” Court on the site of Cumberland House, to the rear of John Rylands. A new City Centre facility for Manchester College of Arts and Technology will be built on part of the existing Mancat site on New Quay Street and a new riverside development built along the Irwell between the Pumphouse and New Quay Street. This is set to include new homes, restaurants, bars, retail units and gallery space.

Also in the first phase will be a five-star, 235-room hotel, on the site of Northcliffe House, situated at the corner of Hardman Street and Deansgate.

Later phases of the scheme will depend on commercial demand but could include a further hotel on part of the college site, ten office blocks with up to 65,058 sq m of high callibre space, further residential blocks, retail space and a multi-storey car park. These will utilise not only the remainder of the Mancat site, but also part of the sites of Cumberland House, the existing Magistrates’ Court and vacant land on Hardman Street. There is also a proposal to demolish the existing YHA shop and Manchester Evening News building and replace them with a major retail store

“The scheme will help consolidate Manchester”s standing as a modern, dynamic, international centre for major investment. Following the successful redevelopment of the bomb damaged area, the regeneration of this quarter will represent the next significant phase of investment in the City Centre.

“It will be an exciting place for people and families and will make a major contribution to our key policy objective of providing new job opportunities for Manchester residents.”
Richard Leese, Leader, Manchester City Council

“This is a sustainable development and can be delivered through our valuable partnership with Manchester City Council. These buildings and the public space around them will create a commercial area needed to enable Manchester to achieve it’s deserved international status.”
Michael Ingall, Managing Director, Allied London Properties

By the middle of 1998 there were 40 housing developments with 2,100 units excluding student accommodation. A further 550 units were under construction with over 400 more planned. Most schemes so far have been around the edges of the City Centre – the majority are still in a curve round the southern edge from Whitworth Street and The Village through to Castlefield.

More recently, development of the Smithfields Building by Urban Splash and a number of small schemes by Hodari have given the Northern Quarter considerable impetus, set to continue with proposals by Crosby Homes and Riverside Housing Association for the former Smithfield Market site and Town Centre Securities’ plans for Piccadilly Basin. Even the central financial area is no longer out of bounds with Shenton Estates’ plans for 16 apartments on Clarence Street.

The City Centre is now home to an estimated 6,500 people, including students, and could rise as high as 10,000 within a decade if the demand continues. So far it shows no sign of dissipating with potential buyers queuing to snap up new flats as soon as they are released.

Baltic’s £10 million conversion of the Grand Hotel on Aytoun Street saw home hunters waiting outside for two days with half of the 110 apartments sold on the first day of release. Urban Splash’s conversion of the 11,000 sq m Britannia Mills on Ellesmere Street in Castlefield attracted another queue, selling 23 of the 33 released in the first phase on the first day. The demand was mirrored when they released phases at their successful Smithfield Buildings scheme in the Northern Quarter.

Over half the completed units and some 62 per cent of those under construction are conversions of existing buildings, taking up over 100,000 sq m of former commercial space in warehouses and offices. It has proved an effective use for secondary commercial buildings, many of which have proved hard to let. Property analysts say there is no reason to fear the explosion will stop.

According to John Adams, partner with surveyor and planning consultant Drivers Jonas, residential development in the City Centre is entirely market driven. “In other parts of the country councils had to push quite hard to get housing started,” he says, “but not in Manchester. And I don’t think we are anywhere near the threshold yet for housing in the city centre”.

Rob Robinson, head of residential land at GVA Grimley also predicts that the scene will continue to grow. He believes that as the supply of completely vacant property begins to dry up, developers will start to acquire buildings with existing tenants.

With capital values of pre-war and 1960s offices in parts of the city centre based on rents down to £54 per sq m, residential schemes at nearly £2,000 per sq m are clearly an attractive option