Drivers Jonas Deloitte has advised on a masterplan to regenerate Manchester’s Water Street area with the creation of a mixed-use scheme, which encompasses land owned by ITV Granada including the 4.5-acre set of soap opera Coronation Street.
Last December, ITV Granada signed a deal with Peel Group to relocate its Manchester operation, including the Coronation Street set, to MediaCityUK at Salford Quays in 2012.
DJD’s framework outlines plans for the development of a range of residential and business properties as well as a hotel, retail and high-quality public realm space.
DJD has worked with landowners ITV, self storage company Big Yellow, developer Crosby Lend Lease – which owns a 19-acre site – and Manchester city council.
The masterplan is designed to connect the site with Castlefield, Spinningfields and the remainder of the city centre, together with St George’s Island and Central Salford.
The vision is for a new city centre, mixed-use destination with high-quality public realm which responds to the areas features of listed viaducts, canal basins and rivers.
John Cooper, director of planning at Drivers Jonas Deloitte Manchester, said: “The Water Street regeneration framework shows how the area can be transformed in a way that will provide significant benefits to the local communities and will complement wider regeneration objectives for the city centre.
“Given its location, we expect that the scheme will offer the opportunity for competitively priced commercial accommodation to be made available on terms designed to attract small and medium sized enterprises, and generate entrepreneurial activity. It will provide an affordable ‘close to centre’ offer, for which there is an identifiable demand and will generate a market in the city for occupiers who would otherwise look to out of town locations.”
daniel.cunningham@estatesgazette.com
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