Manchester City Council’s hunt for a development partner for the transformation of Wythenshawe town centre into a 1,600-home mixed-use scheme is heating up, after it was awarded £20m from the latest round of levelling up funding.
Initially unsuccessful in the previous rounds of bidding, the funding has been agreed by the Department for Levelling Up, Homes and Communities as part of the third and final round of the £4.8bn national funding.
The chosen developer will transform the 1970s shopping centre into a new public square, new shops, net zero carbon commercial, community and cultural space, and around 1,600 new homes built on council-owned land. The housing will be a mix of tenures including affordable rent and shared ownership options.
Since acquiring the Civic Centre in 2022, the council has undertaken a period of consultation with local people and businesses, which was positively received.
The feedback collected from the local engagement informed a new development masterplan that was agreed and adopted by the council’s executive in January this year.
A separate process is also ongoing to begin a feasibility study to develop the cultural hub with support from a specialist partner to ensure it delivers for the community.
The successful joint venture partner that will deliver the regeneration programme in full will be announced in late spring 2024.
Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Over the last two years we have prioritised getting investment across our whole city, not just the city centre
“We know that the Civic is at the very heart of the Wythenshawe neighbourhoods – a focal point for local people to shop and socialise. Our transformational plans have been moving at pace. We were disappointed to miss out on the previous round of levelling up funding that we hoped would be a springboard for the ambitious plans we have for the town centre and the surrounding sites.”
She added: “Our commitment to this programme of investment hadn’t wavered, and we carried on with getting the project moving but confirmation of this £20m will provide the kick-start we hoped for to drive the regeneration and deliver for local people a new public square, new shops, new jobs and new affordable housing.
“We want this to be an exemplar low-carbon development that makes a real difference to the Wythenshawe community – and this funding is a significant boost to helping the Civic meet its massive potential.”
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