Designers have finally been appointed to develop plans that transform Piccadilly Gardens into a “welcoming public space”.
It’s been a long time coming – but Manchester City Council has revealed that a team of designers led by architects LDA Design have now been selected from a shortlist of candidates, and will now be tasked with producing a range of detailed designs and concepts ready for a full planning application to be submitted next year.
The design team has been chosen following an international design competition last year, which was based on initial concept designs that were submitted for the popular city centre space.
As well as Piccadilly Gardens, the 10-acre site covered by the competition also includes Mosley Street, Parker Street, the section of Portland Street which runs alongside Piccadilly Gardens, and the section of Piccadilly which borders the Gardens.
Designers appointed to transform Piccadilly Gardens into a ‘welcoming public space’ / Credit: Manchester City Council
The Council says it envisages Piccadilly Gardens being “a special place with a strong sense of identity” in the future, as well as one that is “welcoming” and “uniquely Mancunian”.
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They want it to become a fully-accessible “place for all”.
Retaining a green space in the heart of the city centre was also central to the Council’s design brief, with competition entrants told to consider Manchester‘s wider environmental goals, yet still recognise the need for the area to accommodate the tens of thousands of people that walk through every day.
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Potential designers were told to ensure their concepts also retain the existing listed monuments, statues, tramlines, and infrastructure, as well as the existing Pavilion structure.
But what exactly do the winner’s design plans entail? Well, according to the Council, competition judges explained that they felt LDA Design’s entry “embraced” and “met” the design brief to a high standard, and praised the elements that proposed the updating of children’s play facilities and improving links to London Road.
What Piccadilly Gardens has looked like through the ages / Credit: LDA Design
Crucially, the Council says that before any final plans are submitted, these designs will be made public so Mancs have the chance say what they think.
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“We know that people have strong views about Piccadilly Gardens,” Leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, admitted as the new designers were appointed, “and serious work is continuing to realise its potential a welcoming public space and somewhere people want to linger and enjoy, not just pass through.
“Today is not about us announcing the plan but appointing the experts who will help produce one, taking the views of Mancunians very much into account.”
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
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Middleton to receive a cinema and Metrolink as part of regeneration plans
Thomas Melia
Greater Manchester town Middleton is about to undergo a huge facelift thanks to a new regeneration project, including a new cinema and Metrolink tram station.
Middleton is one of many bustling communities that make up the borough of Rochdale, and with these new plans, the town might receive a fair few new visitors who want to know what it’s all about.
The Greater Manchester town is undergoing a huge transformation with regeneration plans confirming that Middleton will receive a brand new cinema complex along with an extended Metrolink line as part of the Bee Network expansion covering this area.
This is all thanks to Middleton teaming up with the Mayor to launch the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), which pushes forward regeneration plans for the town and future ideas.
Middleton Shopping Centre right in the heart of the town centre.Middleton Town Centre bustling as the markets take place.Credit: Steven Haslington (via Geograph)/@Rept0n1x (via Flickr)
The MDC considers lots of aspects of the town and even aims to create new homes and improve surrounding public spaces.
Middleton regeneration plans have been floated previously, but complications arose due to a lack of land and available funding, which ultimately brought these foundations to a halt.
Now it seems the green light has been lifted and Middleton is about to get a whole new facelift, which will not only improve the town economically but aesthetically too, along with the wider Rochdale region.
For many Middletonians, the idea of a cinema may have felt like a distant memory, with their last big screen location shutting down just over a decade ago.
This all-new high street regeneration will not only bring an array of shopping favourites back to the town centre but also the long-awaited return of a local cinema. Most importantly, the plans also include a slate of new housing, with an estimated 300 apartments set to be created in one building alone.
Early CGIs of the proposed Middleton regeneration plans.Grade II-listed Warwick Mill looks set to be turned into flats.Credit: Publicity Picture (supplied)
This all falls in line with the ‘Atom Valley scheme‘, which has been commissioned in order to generate over 20,000 job opportunities for people in Bury, Oldham and Rochdale.
The scheme also mentions how it aims to bring a combined economic boost of around £1 billion to these previously mentioned areas.
Rochdale Borough Council leader, Neil Emmott, said: “The development of 1.2 million square metres of employment space around the junction 19 area will help to generate 20,000 high-quality jobs and bring a £1 billion economic boost.”
Featured Image — Publicity Pictures (supplied via Rochdale Borough Council)
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Scouting For Girls announce stacked UK tour with Manchester date
Thomas Melia
British boyband Scouting For Girls are heading out on an extensive UK tour with dates up and down the country, including right here in Manchester.
If the first thing that pops into your mind when you read this headline is “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know how we’ll make it through this”, then you’re on the right side of history.
Nearly 20 years since their single ‘She’s So Lovely’ reached catastrophic heights and had everyone putting on their best Roy Stride accent, Scouting For Girls are heading back on the road.
This UK tour announcement comes two years after their last project, The Place We Used To Meet, reached our ears and was coined by the band as “Our best work since our debut”.
It’s been 18 years since this Brit trio captivated our hearts with their eponymous debut album, which sold over one million copies and went number one on the UK official charts for two weeks.
Whether you know them for ‘Heartbeat’ or ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’, it’s clear to say this band had their fair share of smash hit singles throughout the noughties.
This tour, however, celebrates the sophomore follow-up: Everybody Wants To Be On TV, which went on to continue their legacy and secure them their only number one, ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’, back in 2010.
Now, the boys are treating UK fans to an array of live performances, and if you can’t make one date, fear not because there are 20 different locations for you to choose from.
The group will also be playing the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and a whole host of other Northern cities, so you have plenty of chances to catch them.
If you can’t wait all the way until March 2026 for your next Scouting For Girls fix, lead singer Stride has his own cameo account where you can get the star to read out a message or even sing you a song: “‘Michaela Strachan’ in full, please?…”
Scouting For Girls are coming to O2 Apollo in Manchester on 21 March 2026, with tickets going on sale next Friday, 2 May at 10am HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
31st July 2023 
