Travel & Tourism

The vision to turn familiar Manchester tower into a beautiful new hotel

With a rooftop bar!

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 27th September 2024

Plans are beginning to take shape to turn a landmark building in Manchester’s NOMA neighbourhood into a beautiful new hotel.

New Century House – the Grade II-listed, 14-storey tower next to New Century Hall – could be transformed into a 196-bedroom luxury hotel.

And if it all goes ahead as planned, that might mean a new rooftop restaurant and bar.

The huge 1960s building has a classic modernist design and is a familiar sight in the Manchester city centre skyline.

Now MEPC, the Development and Asset Manager for the NOMA estate, is working with hotel and leisure specialist practice Jenics to secure a hotel partner to see the plans brought to life.

ADVERTISEMENT

The former Co-operative Insurance Society, later The Co-operative Group, could be transformed into an hotel with views across the city.

The proposals at this stage include restaurant and bar spaces, plus conference and leisure facilities.

ADVERTISEMENT

It would be at the heart of the NOMA neighbourhood, just a stone’s throw from the AO Arena, Manchester Victoria, and all the local businesses that have sprung up, from The Sadler’s Cat pub to the reborn New Century Hall music venue and food hall.

Plans for the new hotel include a sky-high restaurant space. Credit: NOMA
Plans for the new hotel include a sky-high restaurant space. Credit: NOMA
The new hotel would have great views of Manchester. Credit: NOMA
The new hotel would have great views of Manchester. Credit: NOMA

The area is also home to the already-acclaimed and Michelin-recommended Skof restaurant.

NOMA is already home to businesses including Amazon, The Co-operative Group, ath-leisure brand Adanola, Material Source, and Arcadis IBI Group.

ADVERTISEMENT

Once a hotel partner is secured, MEPC and Jenics will submit a formal planning proposal to Manchester City Council.

Dan Hyde, development director at MEPC, developer and asset manager at NOMA said: “New Century House is a Manchester landmark and we believe now is the right time to bring it back to life as a hotel.

New Century House is a landmark in NOMA. Credit: NOMA
New Century House is a landmark in NOMA. Credit: NOMA
The building could become a hotel. Credit: NOMA
The building could become a hotel. Credit: NOMA

“It’s a natural next step for our growing neighbourhood with the building located either side of BNY at 4 Angel Square and the destination venue of New Century Hall.”

Jeremy Collins of Jenics added: “Manchester has huge international visitor pull thanks to its global connectivity, world-leading universities and sporting and cultural assets.

“New Century House is a rare and outstanding opportunity and will be a tremendous addition to Manchester’s visitor economy offer, both from a business and leisure perspective.  

ADVERTISEMENT

“NOMA has adopted a flexible approach to secure a ‘best fit’ occupier by way of either a virtual freehold sale or lease disposal. This approach will drive positive interest from a range of operators.”

You can see more on the proposals here.

Read more

Featured image: NOMA

Travel & Tourism

No trams to run on major Metrolink line as ‘essential’ work to repair Victorian-era tunnel starts this weekend

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant A Metrolink tram in Manchester city centre

Travel disruption is expected across the next couple of weeks as ‘essential engineering’ work begins on a major Metrolink line.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that a reduced service will run on the Bury line this weekend, as work to replace ‘defective’ beams supporting the roof at Whitefield Tunnel means that no trams will run between Crumpsall and Bury on Saturday (10 May), or between Whitefield and Bury on Sunday (11 May).

Some weekend and overnight working is said to be ‘necessary’ to secure and protect the overhead line equipment, so that the beam replacement work can be completed as ‘safely and quickly as possible’, according to TfGM.

A crane is planned to be in use for the beam replacement work at times.

Closures on the line from this weekend come after the successful completion of preparatory work at the site, following the discovery of a defective beam.

No trams will run on a major Metrolink line as ‘essential’ work to repair Victorian-era tunnel starts this weekend / Credit: TfGM

As well as the suspension on services this weekend, as mentioned above, several other chances throughout this month and into the next on the Bury line are also to be expected.

No tram services will operate between Crumpsall and Bury on Sunday 25 May, and no again from Friday 30 May to Sunday 1 June, while no trams will run between Whitefield and Bury from Monday 26 to Thursday 29 May.

For the duration of all closures, replacement bus services will run between the affected stops on all the above dates.

Any so-called ‘noisier’ work is set to take place during daytime and evening working hours where possible, and several noise reduction measures – such as acoustic blankets and enclosures – also to be put in place during this.

As always, the Greater Manchester public is being advised to ‘plan ahead’ if they are travelling.

“Whitefield Tunnel dates back to the 19th century,” explained Ian Davies, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, “and this essential work will ensure tram services can continue to safely pass through it for decades to come.

“This is a complex job, but we will do everything we can to minimise disruption to passengers, residents and businesses.”

Read more:

He added: “I would encourage people who use the Bury line to plan ahead and check the Bee Network website, app, and social media channels for the most up-to-date travel information.”

Find out the latest on the TfGM website here.

Featured Image – Janus Boye

Travel & Tourism

Manchester named one of Europe’s ‘best’ cities alongside 17 other British places

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester has been named one of the ‘best’ cities in Europe for 2025, according to a new ranking.

You may remember that our city – and wider Greater Manchester borough – has often featured on various round-up lists over the years, with it ranking on everything from being named one of the best places in the UK to buy your first home, and the best place to raise a family, right through to being one of the most creative cities.

But it arguably doesn’t get much better than a title like this.

For a long time now, the city has been cementing itself as a tourist hotspot, with new hotels popping up left, right, and centre, and integrated transport systems being introduced to make it easier to get around.

And it looks like all that has paid off, as Manchester has now been named one of the best cities in the whole of Europe for 2025, thanks to a new ranking by Resonance Co.

Manchester skyline
Manchester has been named one of Europe’s ‘best’ cities / Credit: Josh Taylor | Chris Curry (via Unsplash)

This year, the global placemaking company’s research encompassed 128 cities across Europe with metropolitan area populations of 500,000 or more, and evaluated each of them based on 30 performance indicators and perception metrics derived from surveys of more than 7,500 respondents across 10 European countries.

Once each of these performance indictors had been evaluated, every city was given its own ‘Place Power Score’ to determine its ranking.

A city’s ‘Place Power Score’ examines three core dimensions – liveability, which takes into account things like housing affordability, healthcare access, green space, air quality, and cycling infrastructure; loveability, which encompasses culture, nightlife, culinary scenes, and more; and prosperity, which includes business environment, talent density, GDP per capita, airport connectivity, and more.

While Manchester may have missed out on both the top 10 and top 20, considering it’s a top 100 list, our city has claimed the respectable 36th spot, beating out mega cities such as Venice, Nice, Athens, and loads more.

In fact, 18 British cities are included in the top 100.

Our city has ranked alongside 17 other British places / Credit: Mangopear Creative

Explaining why Manchester has been ranked, Resonance Co said in its city description: “You’ll be hearing a lot more about Manchester this decade, as the historic engine of English industry shifts into high gear across both culture and development.

“While the UNESCO City of Literature continues to shape global music – with 2024’s opening of the 23,500-seat Co-op Live arena, and a festival lineup that includes Beyond the Music and Worldwide Music Expo – Greater Manchester is also writing a new chapter in urban reinvention.

“A newly centralised ‘single pipeline for growth’ coordinates £1 billion of planned annual investment across six targeted Growth Locations, aiming to deliver tens of thousands of homes and jobs at a pace unmatched in the UK since the 2012 London Olympics. Among the boldest is the Western Gateway, anchored by the regeneration of Old Trafford around Manchester United’s stadium, projected to generate over 90,000 jobs.

“The Central Growth Cluster includes innovation districts like Crescent Salford and Victoria North. These ambitions build on an £80-billion economy that’s grown 50% since 2000 and now leads the nation in FDI outside London.

“Add a mature devolved governance model and transformative transit investments – like bringing commuter rail into the Bee Network – and the city’s Top 10-ranked airport and 15th-most Instagram Hashtags start making sense.”

Read more:

Which city took the title of the best city in Europe though? Well unfortunately, we have to give it to the southerners on this one, as London took the top spot.

But at least it’s an impressive win for the UK, if nothing else.

Featured Image – Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)

More Travel & Tourism

Rannerdale Knotts in the Lake District has one of the UK's prettiest bluebell displays

Travel & Tourism

The beautiful Lake District bluebells display that’s being ‘loved to death’

News

Green light given for new train station in Greater Manchester town without one for 60 years

News

Tram disruption to continue into the evening following damage in city centre

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches