U+I’s Mayfield vision to be showcased at MIPIM

Mixed-use property regeneration specialist U+I will outline the vision for the £850m Mayfield development in Manchester to an international audience at the MIPIM conference and exhibition in Cannes.

A session at the Manchester Pavilion at MIPIM on Wednesday, March 15 entitled Original Modern: Making Mayfield will include details of the Mayfield Development Partnership’s scheme.

It will be led by U+I’s deputy chief executive Richard Upton, who will be joined by Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, David West, founding partner at architect Studio Egret West; and Paul Finch, Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival.

The panel debate, being held in association with architects’ trade association RIBA, will focus on the power of great places to transform lives, communities and economies.

It will be facilitated by Stirling Prize winner Stephen Hodder MBE, chairman founder of Hodder + Partners and a former president of RIBA.

Upton said: “We’re still at a very early stage in forming our plans for the historic Mayfield site and we are investing time in listening carefully to our stakeholders and neighbours.

“In February 2017, we, along with our joint venture partners Manchester City Council, LCR and Transport for Greater Manchester, submitted a planning application to Manchester City Council for temporary office and events space on part of the disused Mayfield station site.

“There is enormous potential to deliver something remarkable for the city over time and to revive and reveal some of its hidden assets and under-used spaces through an organic and evolving programme of worthwhile activity in the coming year. We will create an illustrious future built on an industrious past.

“The MIPIM event is an opportunity for us to share our approach to shaping our vision for Mayfield, involving local communities and businesses in an organic and flexible way and, more importantly, to hear the views of others.

“This is ‘bottom- up regeneration’ which is going to deliver something world class for Manchester.”

Hodder said: “Mayfield is a hidden treasure waiting to be revealed. It is to the credit of the Mayfield Partnership that it has chosen to retain this stunning industrial heritage.  

“As with so many of the world’s modern architectural triumphs which breathe new life in to cities, this heritage will encourage  everyone involved to deliver a solution  worthy of this special place.”

U+I was appointed as development partner by the Mayfield Partnership, which comprises Manchester City Council, LCR and Transport for Greater Manchester, in late 2016. The company has extensive experience of working in partnership with public sector organisations to create thriving mixed-use regeneration schemes.

The Partnership’s masterplan for the 26-acre industrial site close to Piccadilly Station envisages the creation of a vibrant, inclusive and eclectic mixed use development comprising 1,300 homes, 75,000 sq m of office space, a 350-bedroom hotel, retail and leisure facilities and a new city park around the River Medlock – which runs through the site – creating over 7,500 office, retail, leisure and construction jobs.

The long-term proposals will seek to enhance many of the site’s historic features and include developing and improving the river.  The Mayfield Development Partnership intends to maintain the historic buildings that still stand and make the most of the area’s built heritage.

The rebirth of Mayfield will reshape and extend the city towards Manchester Piccadilly; building on the benefits of the Northern Hub, Network Rail’s programme of targeted upgrades to improve rail connectivity in the north of England; and act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the east of the city centre.

Last month, the Partnership submitted a planning application to Manchester City Council for temporary office and events space on part of the disused Mayfield station site.

MIPIM is an annual international real estate conference and exhibition attracting more than 20,000 investors, developers, agents and media.