Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council, looks ahead to exciting developments in the City
Anyone who knows me will recognise that I prefer to look forwards rather than backwards.
So indulge me if, instead of offering the traditional review of 2016, a momentous year however you look at it, I look forward to the highlights of 2017.
For Manchester, that means maintaining the momentum that has resulted in levels of construction across the city that I have not witnessed since the early 2000s. Notwithstanding the uncertainties associated with Brexit, this confidence appears undiminished.
One important symbol of this is the £110m world-class Factory Manchester arts space, for which a planning application has been submitted and is due to be considered in January.
It is an ambitious project to create a unique, large-scale and ultra-flexible arts production centre with the capacity to commission original works in partnership with leading national and international organisations. Far from being in competition with existing arts venues, it will attract new and diverse audiences by bringing the best artists in the world to northern England.
At the same time, it will play a critical role in training, developing and retaining talent in the creative industries and be located at the heart of St John’s, a new city centre neighbourhood on the former Granada Studios site.
It is calculated that within a decade it will help create or support the equivalent of almost 2,500 jobs and add £138m a year to the economy.
It is no understatement to say that it will help Manchester and the wider region as we strive to make it a genuine cultural and economic counterbalance to London – it is that significant.
Another creative development will be the city’s two new technology business hubs. Grants of £2m each, using funding awarded to Manchester City Council by the government, have been awarded to deliver 140,000 sq ft of city centre floorspace to host and “incubate” entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized enterprises working with developing digital technologies.
Allied London’s tech hub will be located in Enterprise City, St John’s, and focus on the retail, media and TV sectors.
The Bruntwood/MSP tech hub will be located in Oxford House, Circle Square, on the former BBC site, as part of a major new tech and science business destination. It will focus on data science and technology innovation.
The new year will also see the opening of the second Metrolink crossing through the city centre, improving Manchester’s public transport, and the completion of the transformation of St Peter’s Square next to the Town Hall. Both are helping to attract further investment in Manchester’s Civic Quarter. Expect planning applications for the neighbouring St Michael’s area.
Piccadilly Gardens, still a well-used space but with some unpopular features, is also in line for major improvements from Legal & General, which owns part of the site, and the council.
And the Town Hall, which turns 140 years old next year, is set for a £330m refurbishment. Although structurally sound, the building is showing its age, with many elements reaching the end of their natural life. This much-loved building needs attention to safeguard its future and ensure modern safety and access standards. Doing nothing would mean that sooner or later we would have to stop using, or start mothballing, significant parts of it.
At the same time we will improve public access and generate more income from the building’s role as a visitor destination. Ideas include incorporating a small boutique hotel into the Town Hall building.
While there are too many exciting developments in the pipeline to list here, it would be unforgivable if we failed to safeguard our heritage while building for the future.
