Public realm revamp for part of historic city centre of Manchester

Image: courtesy of Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council is looking to appoint a multidisciplinary team to shape a coordinated public realm and movement strategy for the St Mary’s Parsonage neighbourhood.

A strategic regeneration framework (SRF) for the St Mary’s Parsonage area, the Council reports, was agreed in August 2020 to help guide the principles for development in the area, which is bound by Bridge Street, Deansgate, The River Irwell and Blackfriars Road. A substantial development pipeline is now in place in St Mary’s Parsonage, set to deliver over 1.2 million sq ft of high-quality commercial space, support over 10,000 jobs, hundreds of new homes, new hotel provision and improved, activated ground floors and public spaces.

This transformation is anchored by the major redevelopment of the landmark former Kendals department store building, alongside key schemes at Albert Bridge House, the Alberton and Cardinal sites, and Reedham House, as well as continued investment in heritage assets such as Arkwright House and King’s House.

To  support this growth the Council is now seeking a team, to bring forward a cohesive approach to maximise the potential for the spaces between the buildings, ensuring new development creates a more attractive, accessible neighbourhood, which delivers high quality public realm and improved connectivity for existing residents, businesses and future users of the area.

There are opportunities to activate smaller street scenes, enliven green spaces and create a real sense of place – while also enhancing the existing assets, such as Motor Square, access to the River Irwell, and Parsonage Gardens.

And there’s also potential to loop this space into the Cyan Lines project – and take advantage of the city’s UNICEF Child Friendly City journey.

The appointed team will deliver an addendum to the current SRF alongside a delivery and phasing plan to guide implementation over the coming years. This will focus on creating a clear and deliverable strategy for streets, spaces, movement and servicing, helping to support future funding bids and coordinate investment across multiple sites and landowners.

The programme will also support closer coordination between projects helping to sequence works and reduce disruption where possible as development progresses.

The redevelopment of Kendals building, accelerated by a £44m investment through the Good Growth Fund, will be a key driver for the future of the neighbourhood – which will include improved movements through and to the area, along with enhanced connectivity with Deansgate.

The process to find the team will be managed via the The Chest North West Portal.

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said:

“St Mary’s Parsonage is a landmark area of our city centre and a space that is gearing up to major development in the coming months and years. The Kendals building in particular will be a real catalyst in this neighbourhood and it’s great to see investment plans coming forward for this historic building.

“We believe this part of our city centre has a huge amount of potential, but it needs unlocking. So it’s important that as a Council we can sew together the various developments to create a cohesive neighbourhood that puts people at the forefront, alongside excellent public spaces, green and blue assets and active travel opportunities.

“Placemaking should be at the heart of the design process for St Mary’s Parsonage, to create a destination neighbourhood that can maximise the positive impact of the major investment.”