A Manchester city neighbourhood is set to undergo a £1.7 billion revamp — creating an ‘innovation district’ nestled by the Mancunian Way and Piccadilly Station.
ID Manchester, as it will be known, will see a wholesale regeneration of the University of Manchester's north campus. Replacing concrete hunks will be some 4 million square feet of education, retail, and residential homes.
Some 2 million of those square feet are earmarked for commercial uses, illustrative masterplans show. They will sit alongside 1,500 new homes.
Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link.
The multi-year project, which is set to be approved for consultation by Manchester City Council next week (June 28), is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs. That’s according to bosses at the University and Bruntwood SciTech, who are in a 50:50 joint-venture with Legal&General.
Plans also promise to ‘breathe new life into key heritage assets’ on-site, such as the Sackville Street and Renold buildings — plus Vimto Park. It will also adopt a ‘living landscape’ approach to the district’s nine acres of public realm, enhancing existing green spaces, reconnecting communities with nature and improving urban biodiversity by at least 10 percent.
The development, which is expected to take 15 years to complete, represents a continuation of ‘Manchester’s innovative spirit’, according to council leader Bev Craig.
"Manchester is known across the world for its industrious history, but Manchester’s economy has been transformed over the last two decades as one of the fastest growing in Europe. A growing economy, with people at its heart,” Coun Craig, Labour, said.
"The Oxford Road corridor and its environs has been central to Manchester’s innovative spirit for generations – a globally recognised hub for education, innovation and research. The ethos behind ID Manchester continues that tradition, creating opportunities for the city’s emerging specialist sectors in health, advanced materials and biotech to develop and grow.
"We welcome this level of ambition to diversify and grow our economy - while creating thousands of new jobs alongside pathways to learning and apprenticeships for Manchester people to realise their potential, sharing in the success of the city."
And Lou Cordwell, director at ID Manchester, said she was keen to see the public’s reaction. She explained: "Over the next 15 years, we have the opportunity to design a whole new district of the city that will establish Manchester as a global leader for applied innovation and drive new skills, ideas and economic growth in both Manchester and the UK.
"ID Manchester marks a step change in the UK’s ambition to be a world leader in science and tech, not only supporting the UK’s Innovation Strategy, but also creating the exemplar for inclusive innovation – our values of sustainable growth, inclusivity and positive social impact will be at the heart of ID Manchester.
"We’re excited to share our plans with the public and welcome their feedback on how ID Manchester can benefit Greater Manchester communities."
John Holden, associate vice-president for Major Special Projects at the University of Manchester, added: "ID Manchester is an exciting opportunity for new ideas and research to be commercialised and scaled up in Manchester, centred on the Oxford Road Corridor, and to create thousands of high-quality jobs in future-facing industries.
"As one of the world’s leading innovation districts, it will have an emphasis on driving inclusive innovation that works for people and the planet.
"This is a critical mission for the university, which is ranked first in the UK, first in Europe, and second in the world in the 2023 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, based on our performance against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
"ID Manchester will bring huge economic benefit to the city and make a major contribution to Greater Manchester and the national government’s ambitions to use R&D and innovation as an enabler for job creation and levelling up in the UK."
