Huge Eastlands regeneration scheme advances
A HUGE regeneration scheme in East Manchester, driven by Manchester City Football Club, has moved a step closer as proposals were announced to transform an 80-acre site into a world class sporting centre near the City of Manchester Stadium.
The 15-year project, costing hundreds of millions of pounds, will create thousands of jobs and transform one of Manchester’s most deprived areas.
The investment in the new sports hub at Openshaw West is likely to see the football club move its training facilities there, but there will be a strong emphasis on providing facilities for the local community also.
A legally-binding joint venture, called the Eastlands Development Partnership, has been agreed between regeneration company New East Manchester, Manchester City Council and Manchester City Football Club, which builds on the outline agreement announced in March 2010.
Plans for the new sports facilities are expected to be submitted in the autumn.
Garry Cook, chief executive of Manchester City said: “Manchester City is a Club at the heart of the city and at the heart of its community.
“It is therefore wholly appropriate to strengthen our links with the city council, whilst at the same time reaching out to those in the community around us and establishing ways in which we can best serve them.”
Simon Bate, chairman of urban regeneration company New East Manchester, added:“This is the latest milestone in the regeneration journey that East Manchester has been on for the past 15 years.
“We have already seen how the area has gone from having no economic future to one where public and private partners together have stabilised the area and put in place a proposal for economic growth.
“We now have a long-term plan which will act as a platform for our priorities and actions over the coming years, enabling businesses, local resident and visitors to benefit from future investment opportunities.”
In the short term, land already owned by Manchester City Football Club on the Openshaw West site will be the focus of exploratory remediation in the coming weeks and months. The development framework, which will be subject to formal consultation in May, can be read at http://manchester.gov.uk/eastlands
As well as the investment in the sports facility – which will be linked by a bridge to the City of Manchester Stadium – the blueprint reveals that there is expected to be a major entertainment complex built on vacant land behind the stadium on Alan Turing Way.
The consultation document says: “The development of a destination leisure and tourism attraction is a key component of the overall strategy for securing the comprehensive development of Eastlands and represents an opportunity to introduce to Manchester an internationally distinctive concept in leisure provision.
“This should set new standards in terms of content, scale and customer experience, maximising the opportunity for local
people to benefit from the future success of the site.”
Eddie Smith, chief executive of New East Manchester told TheBusinessDesk: “This is game-changing in terms of East Manchester’s transformation. I can think of no other partnership of this nature between a major football club and its local community. It is a major shot in the arm for the city and the region too – it will transform investment perceptions of East Manchester.”
“As well as the club’s obvious committment to achieving success on the pitch, there is an obvious intention to bring about big community benefits in terms of better health, education and well-being for the people of East Manchester.”
