The architectural drawings of MediaCity:UK in Salford, submitted last month as part of the phase one planning application by landowner and developer Peel Holdings, show a lively, imaginative and, some might say, futuristic scheme. It is all very fitting for what it is hoped will become home to leading-edge creative businesses and the UK’s first dedicated media hub.
Today, Salford Quays is a work in progress. The Lowry and Imperial War Museum North sit alongside offices, and MediaCity will fill a huge hole in the barren landscape.
The BBC’s decision to relocate five departments from London together with its existing Manchester operation to the site has been the catalyst for the proposals and a feather in the cap for the North West. The intention to eventually locate 15,500 people, including BBC staff, at MediaCity makes it an ambitious and lengthy project, and one that will inevitably have an impact on the wider market.
First phase plans will see the construction of 330,000 sq ft for the BBC, a mere 10th of the site. The first phase will also see 200,000 sq ft of speculative offices, 300 homes and some retail.
Tight timetable
Ed Burrows, development manager at Peel, says: “We’ve got a tight timetable and we are looking to complete the first building by the end of 2009. Fit-out will be in 2010 – it’s quite a lengthy process – and the first staff will move in around 2010-11.”
The IT and digital infrastructure that the BBC requires will put the scheme at the cutting edge of the industry.
Rupert Barron, agency partner of Donaldsons, points out: “If the BBC wasn’t coming, Manchester would follow, rather than lead, the industry.”
The popular perception of broadcast media has traditionally been that of TV studios and production offices, but these are a small and shrinking part of the industry. Today, broadcasters are waking up to streaming websites such as YouTube, as well podcasts and mobile phone content.
Felicity Goodey, chief executive of the MediaCity:UK consortium, goes as far as to call it the “revolution of the 21st century”.
If MediaCity is at the cutting edge of IT and telecoms infrastructure, with the BBC as anchor tenant, then it has the potential to attract not only small production companies and businesses servicing the studios, but also large corporate telecoms and IT firms. It is this side of the industry that could create thousands of jobs.
Along with the value unlocked from the residential elements of the site, the big corporates will be welcomed as top rent payers. Small creative businesses and media start-ups, while exciting to have around, are not renowned for paying headline-grabbing rental figures.
Burrows says: “Salford Quays has proved a popular office location, and companies there, such as Marks & Spencer, have expanded. We will see rents going through £20 per sq ft – but not by much.”
Manchester agents agree. Simon Reynolds, partner at GVA Grimley, says: “Salford Quays rents and capital values will inevitably increase. Residential values will go up, although if you haven’t bought there now it’s probably too late.”
There are also interesting retail and leisure opportunities, says Reynolds. “BBC loveys aren’t going to eat in Pizza Express,” he jokes.
Many in the market, Goodey included, see the benefits of MediaCity reaching beyond Manchester and Salford into the wider North West, attracting skilled workers and the companies that employ them to sites outside Salford.
MIDAS, the body charged with fostering and attracting businesses to Greater Manchester, is certainly marketing more than just MediacCity to media companies.
Robbie Muirhead, head of business development, says: “We are selling what the whole of Manchester has to offer, not just MediaCity. Many companies that are attracted to Manchester may not find MediaCity suitable.”
Barron agrees. “There will be companies that piggyback the BBC but, because the North West is well connected, they could equally locate in Warrington, for example,” he says.
It is too early to tell how magical the BBC’s touch will be on Salford Quays, its neighbouring down-at-heel locations and Manchester in general. No doubt, there will be a distinct increase in the use of the word “media” in marketing brochures.
MediaCity:UK key facts
- 200 acres
- 7m sq ft of new and refurbished space for business, retail and residential
- Development is being overseen by a consortium of Central Salford urban regeneration company, Peel Holdings, Salford city council and the Northwest Regional Development Agency
- The BBC is proposing to move five departments, including BBC Children and BBC Sport, to MediaCity
- BBC facilities will cover 10% of the site
- First phase includes 330,000 sq ftfor the BBC, 200,000 sq ft of speculative offices, 300 homes and some ground-floor retail
- Detailed plans were submitted for planning permission in February
- At 1,320 hours, Manchester is the second-biggest producer of TV content in the UK
Could the Rovers Return move to Salford?
The BBC is not the only large broadcaster with a home in Manchester. Its commercial rival, ITV, also has a substantial presence with its 16.8-acre Granada Studios site adjacent to the Coronation Street set.
The broadcaster has invited tenders for the redevelopment of its landholdings, which border Quay Street and the River Irwell. Ask Developments and AMEC are rumoured to be among up to eight developers bidding.
ITV wants to move into more modern and better-equipped facilities, and has several options, including an upgrade of part of its existing site or a wholesale move to MediaCity:UK in Salford. There is no doubt that a move there would be the icing on the cake for the Salford scheme, and something that is actively being pursued by the development consortium.
It is clear, however, that Manchester council wants to keep ITV within the city’s boundaries, which puts the broadcaster in a strong bargaining position.
A move for Coronation Street could also be on the cards. Felicity Goodey, chief executive of the MediaCity:UK consortium, points out that the programme would be coming home if it moved to Salford, as the city’s New Barracks estate supposedly inspired creator Tony Warren.
However, moving the production and sets of a four-night-a-week programme is not an easy or cheap option. The famous street would have to be rebuilt in its entirety before production could be moved.
