Work set to start on first phase of £1.4bn regeneration scheme

The starting gun has been fired on a £1.4bn scheme in Manchester which is set to become one of the largest urban regeneration projects in the country.

Councillors have approved a planning application for the first phase of a huge regeneration scheme close to Piccadilly train station.

The transformation of a derelict railway depot and the surrounding area will include the city’s first new park in more than a century.

The Mayfield Partnership will now start work on the scheme which includes extensive public space; 319,900 sq ft of commercial space across two buildings, The Poulton and The Republic; and a multi-storey car park.

Councillors praised the breadth of the public consultation and outreach to the local community during the application process.

Committee member Jon-Connor Lyons said: “This is a fantastic application for a great amenity and a development that will protect our city’s heritage too.

“I must praise the consultation – you rarely see young people being involved to such a high level.”

The neighbourhood is designed around a new 6.5-acre park, which will be built along the banks of the newly uncovered River Medlock that winds through the heart of the site, and will be overlooked by the two new office buildings.

The buildings are designed to appeal to a range of occupiers, from scale-ups and innovation companies to larger businesses.

The Poulton, designed by Bennetts Associates, will offer 75,900 sq ft of commercial space and feature a double-height, flexible ground floor that will be open to the public throughout the day and evening for uses that could include wellbeing activities, leisure and co-working.

The Republic, designed by Morris+Company, a 13-storey, 244,000 sq ft flagship office development include larger floorplates and landscaped roof terraces.

A 581-space multi-storey car park, equipped with electric vehicle charging points, will be built at the south of site.

The park, new commercial spaces and car park will sit alongside a range of historic buildings, including the former station on Fairfield Street, which are being retained and redeveloped as part of the wider regeneration plans.

The depot building has already been transformed into a new cultural venue, Depot Mayfield, which welcomed 330,000 visitors to Mayfield in 2019.

Work is expected to start on-site on the park and the buildings later this year.

The Mayfield Partnership is made up of Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), LCR and regeneration specialist U+I.

Richard Upton, chief development officer at U+I, said: “Mayfield will be one of the UK’s defining urban developments this decade.

“These plans for the first phase bring together exceptional new workplaces with cultural space, centred on a beautifully landscaped park that will provide a transformative and sustainable public amenity for the people of Manchester long into the future.

“From welcoming tens of thousands of visitors every week at one of the UK’s best new cultural venues – Depot Mayfield – to the range of enterprises that already call Mayfield home, this long-dormant area is already playing an active role in the city’s life once again.

“When work begins this year, we will channel that energy into the soulful regeneration of Mayfield to create an inclusive, diverse, socially and economically productive neighbourhood which will attract businesses, residents and visitors, all drawn by the quality and vibrancy of the environment.

“We are incredibly excited about its future as an imaginative and distinctive place in a globally significant city.”

At 26-acres Mayfield is one of the UK’s largest and most important regeneration opportunities.

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “The Mayfield scheme will deliver real improvements and opportunities for Manchester’s people.

“Not only will it create a significant new city centre green space for people to enjoy – something which was integral to the masterplanning of this development – but it will also deliver thousands of new jobs, transforming an unloved and largely underused part of the city centre into a world-class gateway.”

Located next to Manchester Piccadilly Station, the majority of the Mayfield site has lain derelict for 30 years.

Over the next 10-15 years The Mayfield Partnership’s £1.4bn vision for Mayfield has the potential to provide 1,500 homes, 1.6m sq ft of office space, a 650-bedroom hotel, and retail and leisure space. It is envisaged Mayfield will create more than 10,000 office, retail, leisure and construction jobs.

Deloitte Real Estate is planning adviser to the Mayfield Partnership. Studio Egret West is the overall masterplanner for Mayfield, landscape architect for Mayfield Park and has also designed the multi-storey car park. Bennetts Associates is designing The Poulton and Morris + Company The Republic.