New building planned for heart of Manchester

A ten-storey office building with shops and a restaurant is to be built in the heart of Manchester.

A planning application has been put together for the new building in Piccadilly Gardens.

The building will sit on the corner of the plaza and Lever Street on the fringe of the Northern Quarter.

Trafalgar Leisure has drawn up the plans for the new building which would sit next to a three storey building with a listed front.

Planning permission was granted for a building on the site in 2006 but the plug was pulled on the project.

The collapse of the property market following the financial crisis meant the project was not economically viable.

The new building would have 49,500 sq ft of floorspace and would have shops and bars in the first three floors. There will also be a rooftop terrace.

A planning statement said: “The scheme will deliver economic, social and environmental benefits and will encourage the effective re-use of a brownfield site with Manchester city centre.

“It will conserve the significance of the grade II-listed 47 Piccadilly and secure a sustainable future use for the heritage asset in a manner consistent with adjacent land uses.

“The scheme represents a sustainable development. Within national and local planning policy, there is a presumption in favour of sustainable development.

“It is requested that the scheme which is the subject of this application for planning permission and listed building consent therefore be approved as submitted.”