Funding deal enables first phase of work to start at £400m Mayfield development

Agreement has been sealed to start work on the first phase of the £400m Mayfield site in Manchester.

The Mayfield Partnership, a joint venture between regeneration developer U+I, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and LCR, reached agreement to fund the first phase of development at the 24-acre central Manchester site with Landsec, U+I’s parent company.

The deal allows Landsec/U+I to begin drawing down land from an agreed first phase along the south side of the city centre site that could total more than 800,000 sq ft of mixed-use development with a potential GDV of £400m.

The first plots available for draw down from this agreement include two office buildings totalling 320,000 sq ft and a 581-space multi-storey car park, which were granted unanimous planning consent in January 2020.

Subject to a number of workstreams being completed, Landsec/U+I could be on site in 2023 with a circa 24-month programme to deliver the first building – the 76,000 sq ft Poulton and the car park.

Since the Mayfield Partnership was established it has already delivered significant success. A Strategic Regeneration Framework was agreed with Manchester City Council and in 2020, detailed consent was granted for the first phase of development, with the partnership securing £23m of central government, COVID-recovery funding to build the first new city-centre public park in Manchester for more than 100 years.

The 6.5-acre Mayfield Park, which is becoming a popular visitor destination, opened to the public at the end of September this year.

The overall masterplan for Mayfield will see more than 1.5m sq ft of commercial office development, in excess of 1,500 homes and a significant food, leisure and retail offer all built around 13-acres of public greenspace.

The previously hidden River Medlock runs through the heart of the site and has been uncovered and cleaned as part of the development of Mayfield Park.

Mayfield will be one of the greenest development schemes in the UK when it completes by 2030, contributing significantly to Manchester’s leading net zero targets.

Work began at Mayfield very shortly after the outline consent was agreed. In autumn 2019, the 10,000-capacity Depot Mayfield opened as a major live entertainment venue, hosting a range of events. Escape to Freight Island, a large restaurant/entertainment venue opened fully in summer 2021, following the full relaxation of COVID restrictions.

Earlier this year Mayfield welcomed its millionth visitor and numbers of visitors are expected to increase significantly following the opening of Mayfield Park.

Peter Hawthorne, LCR’s CEO, said: “This is a landmark moment for the Mayfield Partnership that allows us to continue the significant momentum we have already built with the project. Following the completion of our 6.5-acre public park earlier this summer, this deal presents us with an opportunity to start building at Mayfield with energy.

“We are very pleased to have a deal in place that means we can move at some pace to deliver enhanced public value to the surrounding community.”

Mike Hood, U+I’s chief executive, said: “We are extremely proud of the work we have done with our partners at Mayfield to design a truly sustainable, mixed-use regeneration scheme for this important site in Manchester.

“The opportunity to work with our colleagues at Landsec to fund this first phase of development at Mayfield is significant progress on a strategy to unlock our wider mixed-use regeneration portfolio and is a big step forward in our mission to become the best mixed-use regeneration investor and developer in the UK.”

Cllr Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “The opportunity we created when the Mayfield Partnership was established was to bring significant change to this part of the city centre site that had sat under-used for too long. The chance to start building is a major move forward in our plan to create sustainable homes, jobs and a whole new leisure quarter at Mayfield.”

Mike Mellor, head of commercial and real estate at TfGM, said: “Mayfield will be one of the greenest urban development schemes in the UK. Its location right next to Piccadilly Station and proximity to the centre of Manchester provides us with an opportunity to build a new part of the city with sustainable transport at its heart.”