Major plans to build new offices and a car park next to Manchester’s newest city centre park have been changed.
Mayfield Park opened last year as the city’s latest green space, but was intended to be the first project in a multi-year plan to completely transform the former industrial wasteland. Planning permission to construct the park was granted in February 2020, along with the go-ahead to build two offices and a multi-storey car park.
However, bosses at the Mayfield Partnership — a joint public-private venture developing the area — say the pandemic has caused them to rethink the offices and car park. Now, they are submitting new plans for the site, which includes an ‘extensively modified’ multi-storey, and ‘more sustainable’ office block.
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The 320,000 sq ft of office space will be spread across two new buildings. One is called The Poulton, designed by Bennetts Associates — with the other known as The Republic, designed by Morris+Company.
An additional three acres of public spaces will extend Mayfield Park to the surrounding buildings contributing new landscaped areas, additional tree-planting, ecology, and rain gardens. Ecology also appears to be the thinking behind the reworked car park.
What was going to be purely a multi-storey will now be a multi-use facility, featuring one of the city’s biggest, single-site cycle parking for over 400 bicycles, plus cafes and event space.
However, there will still be hundreds of parking spaces. The first version of the plans included 581 car park spaces, compared to 487 now, with around half of those electric vehicle points.
Laura Percy, Development Director at LandsecU+I believes the changes will future-proof the neighbourhood.
“We believe Mayfield has the right mix to improve the quality of life for those who come here now, and for future generations,” she said. “Creating one of the city’s largest cycle parks and designing-in the flexibility to repurpose the car park for a range of different uses, are just some of the ways we’re approaching Mayfield with a sustainable future in mind.
“Future occupiers at Mayfield will be drawn by the stunning views across the park, ecology, biodiversity and peaceful green space literally on their doorsteps, and a vision and commitment from the Mayfield Partnership that this place is a truly world-class urban neighbourhood long into the future.”
From next week (June 26), Mayfield Park has ‘banned’ cigarettes, cigars, and vapes in the public area. However, no fines will be issued for people who don't abide by the new rules, as the change is not a law that can be enforced by public officials.
Instead, staff who work on site will have a 'friendly chat' with smokers to ask them to stop, and the Manchester Evening News understands the approach will not be 'heavy handed' or 'in your face'.
