Heritage railway arches in Manchester city centre are set to be transformed into a ‘creative talent development centre’.
Three arches close to the HOME arts venue will be converted for the £2.2million scheme - which will use cash from the government’s Levelling Up fund. Operated by HOME, the centre will include affordable co-working areas, a free rehearsal space and creative skills training for young people.
Meanwhile, work is continuing to to transform the historic Upper and Lower Campfield Market buildings, on Liverpool Road, into a media and tech hub.
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Manchester Council has entered into legal agreements with development partner Allied London - who will repair, refurbish and fit the Grade II-listed buildings into a new Campfield tech, media and creative industries hub. Work will begin this year and is expected to be completed by spring 2024.
The scheme - which will use £17.5m of Levelling Up funding - is within the St. John’s area and will be operated by Allied’s All Work & Social. Castlefield House, also owned by Allied, will be repositioned as part of the masterplan to provide complementary workspace for tech and media businesses.
Both Campfield and the project near HOME form the Culture In The City project, which was provided with government funding in autumn 2021 .
The Campfield market buildings will provide 83,000 sqft of modern workspace, including a minimum of 400 hot desks plus meeting rooms, event spaces and other facilities accessible on a permanent occupier or drop-in basis.
The council says Campfield will attract and support start-up, recovery and scale-up businesses in the tech, innovation and media sectors, providing 1,600 jobs over 15 years and sustaining a further 2,400.
It is set to build on the success of the Exchange Tech Hub, in the Bonded Warehouse, and form part of wider plans for Enterprise City at St John’s. This includes the ABC Building, the Globe Building and Manchester Goods Yard - which is already the home of Booking.com and Cloud Imperium Games.
Council leader Bev Craig says Campfield will play a ‘dynamic part’ in Manchester’s future.
"Campfield is an exciting initiative which will see these two heritage buildings help play a dynamic part in Manchester’s future, giving innovative businesses an affordable place to flourish and helping to create the jobs of tomorrow," she says.
“Having a location in the heart of the city centre, as part of a cluster of similar businesses, will create an environment where tech, media and creative entrepreneurs – whether they are starting up or scaling up – can network and share inspiration.
“Manchester has always been a city of innovation and creativity. Campfield will help ensure it continues to be.”
Allied London chairman and chief executive, Michael Ingall, says the project is important to get two historic buildings back into a sustainable use and to further develop the tech, media and creative sectors in the heart of Manchester.
He says: “We have researched as well as visited several precedent developments such as New Lab, Brooklyn, Station F, Paris, LocHal, Tilburg, and Palermo, Uruguay, as part of our consideration for the design and what can be achieved, and are confident of delivering a very impactful project for Manchester.”
Tanya Grady, commercial director of All Work & Social, the managed workspace operator, says Campfield will 'supersize' the Exchange programme.
“At Department Bonded Warehouse we have firmly established the acclaimed Exchange programme for start-ups and scale-ups where, working with Tech Nation, we have had a great number of successes in our annual cohorts," she says.
"We are now in our fourth year having supported the founding and growth of over 120 fledgling businesses. Campfield will allow us to supersize the Exchange programme and provide more support services around these businesses, and we are excited to be able to build on this success.”
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