Manchester Council’s executive will be asked to approve the Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) for the former retail site at a meeting today
The plan,says the council has been updated following public consultations earlier this year with a new plan for how the development site will connect to wider walking and cycling routes.
These will be well lit – reacting to responses in the consultation – along with accessible routes.
The Government Property Agency (GPA) is also exploring options for delivering office solutions in Manchester, to meet the needs of various civil servant departments, which supports the Government’s commitment to locate more civil servants outside of London and support levelling up. Therefore, the framework also responds to potential interest from the GPA to locate government offices on the site.
The SRF proposes a phased approach to development, to allow the full potential of the site to be realised and to minimise disruption during construction. The exact timing of development will largely be driven by commercial office space and market requirements. The potential interest from the GPA to locate offices in the area gives a positive indication of current market demand.
The green space at the former retail park complements wider green investment elsewhere in Ancoats and New Islington, as well as the nearby, recently opened, Mayfield Park.
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said:
“The development of the former Central Retail Park presents a number of key opportunities to deliver a really impactful programme of regeneration – increasing access to quality public green space, creating a green route to open up and celebrate Cotton Field Park, creating a highly sustainable office space that will support thousands of new jobs in an ecosystem that encourages business growth, and all while bringing an eyesore of a brownfield site back into constructive use.
“The feedback we received through the recent consultation has been a helpful guide in further developing the framework plan for bringing the former retail park back into use – and importantly the investment in a new public green space in our city centre, complementing Mayfield nearby, Electric Park, Cotton Field Park and the upcoming transformation of Ancoats Green.”
