Coronation Street is getting a new look as ITV unveils the first images of an expanded Weatherfield set that includes a new precinct.
The set expansion is hoped to provide a “grittier” alternative setting to the famous cobbles.
In the week that the long-running Manchester-based soap moves to hour-long episodes and an 8pm time slot, ITV has unveiled plans for an “ambitious” new exterior set build that includes the ‘Weatherfield Precinct’ – an impressive two-storey construction that will feature maisonettes, a staircase and balcony leading to the properties, a piazza, and an array of accessible local shops and units.
The soap’s production team says the precinct will “enhance and extend” the set based on the programme’s 7.7 acre site in Trafford.
It’s not the first time Corrie fans have heard of the precinct, as it’s already been part of the wider Weatherfield community and has often cropped up in the soap’s dialogue with characters heading off to the parade of shops.
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🚨 Big news! 🚨
We're excited to announce our new exterior set build – the Weatherfield Precinct! Coming soon 👀
According to ITV, the development – which is the vision of Production Designer, Rosie Mullins-Hoyle – begins construction this week, and will take six months to complete before the programme’s cast and crew can begin to film “exciting” new storylines.
The new set also give scriptwriters the chance to make the most of the show’s “broadening horizons”, and create opportunities to explore storylines beyond the cobbles.
“We are extremely excited to be starting to build Weatherfield Precinct this week after a year of technical drawings, model making, visualising and planning,” Rosie Mullins-Hoyle said.
“An incredible amount of research has been carried out focussing on 1960s local architecture and we are striving to create an authentic area of Weatherfield with a grittier vibe to the existing street that we know and love.”
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She added: “I cannot wait to meet the characters that may call it home and see the businesses that will be created and the storytelling potential of an old but new part of Weatherfield.”
The set expansion is hoped to provide a “grittier” alternative setting to the famous cobbles / Credit: ITV
Series producer Iain MacLeod said the design for the set had been inspired by nearby Salford.
“The fabled Weatherfield Precinct has been much discussed, but little seen on the show in our 61 years, and I am really excited to be expanding the Coronation Street universe,” he explained.
“The plans for the shopping area are drawn directly from the real-world Salford environs that inspired the show’s creator Tony Warren and exemplify the authenticity and ambition we still prize as we move to hour-long episodes this week.”
Looking ahead to the future of the ITV soap – which currently holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s longest running soap – John Whiston, Managing Director of Continuing Drama and Head of ITV in the North – said: “As we (hopefully) come out of COVID and start to stretch our dramatic legs again, it will be great to be able to play exciting new stories against a brand new backdrop.
“And it’s a testament to the confidence ITV has in the show that it is investing so much in our future.
“Mind you, I guess it won’t be long before we blow it up, burn it down or crash a tram into it.”
Featured Image – ITV
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Greater Manchester city named UK’s ‘loneliest’ with highest percentage of people living alone
Emily Sergeant
One of Greater Manchester’s cities has been named the ‘loneliest’ in the UK, according to the number of single occupants.
Living alone used to be seen as somewhat of a short-term ‘phase’, often between living in family homes or house shares, but today it’s a completely different story, as solo living is fast becoming a defining feature of urban Britain.
From high-rise studio flats, to compact commuter apartments, single-occupancy living is reshaping the character of many UK cities.
While for some, living alone simply represents independence and flexibility, for others it’s more a case of necessity – with wider demographic data apparently showing single-occupancy linked to student populations, delayed family formation, career mobility, and rising house prices that make shared living less practical.
But, with all things considered then, which towns and cities in the UK have the most solo occupants? The ‘loneliest’ cities, if you will.
A new study by Tarotoo set out to identify where solo living is most concentrated across the UK, with researchers analysing 58 cities, examining the number of studio and one-bedroom homes listed for sale or rent per 10,000 residents using Rightmove data – and it was Salford that came out on top.
Salford has been named the UK’s ‘loneliest’ with the highest percentage of people living alone / Credit: Hilverd Reker (via Wikimedia Commons)
That’s right, Salford tops the ranking with a striking 158.08 single-occupancy homes per 10,000 people, which is more than double the figure of the city in second place, and also vastly ahead of the national average.
The city’s rapid regeneration over the past decade, particularly around MediaCity and the wider Greater Manchester area, is said to be a huge contributing factor it in taking the top spot, as this has driven a boom in purpose-built apartments.
In fact, according to ONS data, Salford has seen one of the fastest rates of population growth among young professionals in the North West.
Other northern cities in the top 20 include Lancaster and Leeds, at fourth and fifth place respectively, and outside the top 20 is where you’ll find other northern cities like Liverpool, Chester, York, and Sheffield – with Manchester itself coming in at number 39 on the list.
At the opposite end of the ranking, Newport records just 2.59 single-occupancy homes per 10,000 people, which is the lowest figure in the study, and it’s then followed by Glasgow (3.29), Swansea (3.78), Dundee (4.33), and Stoke-on-Trent (4.51).
Featured Image – Patrick Perkins (via Unsplash)
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The 2026 BRIT Awards in Manchester – everything you need to know
Danny Jones
It’s nearly time: the 2026 BRIT Awards in Manchester are SO close, and we can barely contain our excitement, so much so that we’ve spent almost as much time trying to decide what we’re going to wear as we have figuring out what time we’re even setting off for Co-op Live.
Heading to the massive indoor arena and our region for the first time ever – this being the first of at least two years the awards will be spending up North – BRITs fever has well and truly gripped the city.
With murals, posters, DJ sets, live gigs and various other events popping up all over 0161, it almost feels like festival season has arrived early.
But with so much going on, it’s hard to keep track of everything, and we intend to soak up every single drop of this huge moment for us Mancs. So, from timings and travel to who’ll be performing throughout the night and more, here’s all the important details you need to know ahead of the 2026 BRIT Awards.
BRITs 2026 guide – all the key info
What time does the BRITs start at Co-op Live and on TV?
This year’s BRIT Awards will air on ITV1 and the ITVX streaming service at 8:15pm, and will also be free to watch online via their official YouTube channel for the first time ever.
It will also be the 13th year running that international viewers will be able to tune into the ceremony via the platform.
As for the pre-show festivities at Co-op Live, presenters Tyler West and Charley Marlowe will be hosting the BRITs 2026: ‘Live From The Red Carpet’ livestream, with the broadcast getting underway from 5:30pm onwards.
While an official arrival time for members of the public is yet to be fully confirmed by the venue, doors to the venue typically open at approximately 6:45pm, and as always, we would advise turning up with plenty of time to spare before the show gets going.
Who is performing at the BRITs this year?
Now, most of you already know that the likes of global pop phenomenon and Co-op Live investor himself, Harry Styles, is playing at this year’s BRITs – not to mention an extra special ‘intimate’ gig at the venue, too – as is fellow singer-songwriting superstar Olivia Dean.
That being said, they have continued to trickle out announcements of other acts joining the live music lineup for the 2026 BRITs, including names such as Wolf Alice, Mark Ronson and more.
For instance, they only just announced that popular London-born artist DJ AG will performing a special pop-up set outside Manchester Piccadilly train station on Friday, 27 February from 4-8pm; he’s also teased that some of the acts on the main bill could very well show their faces…
With all that in mind, in case one or two of them might have slipped by you, here is the full list of everyone confirmed to be performing on the night.
Who else is on the live music lineup in Manchester for BRITs Week ’26?
In case you’ve somehow missed the announcements, another big part of BRITs Week as a whole is the raft of very special intimate gigs happening not just here in Greater Manchester but across the country.
Besides the Foo Fighters announcing their own exclusive small-cap show at the O2 Ritz – with War Child UK also helping give away pairs of tickets – these nights are hosted to raise vital funds for the crucial charity that carries out work all over the world.
Teaming up with the BRIT Awards back in 2016, the pair have been generating money for the cause for over a decade now, and the names playing these War Child gigs have only gotten bigger over time.
Arguably the biggest of them all, British pop icon Robbie Williams also joined the list of performers of War Child x DHL charity gigs late on after the initial announcement, to make the comprehensive lineup of BRIT Awards performers truly unbelievable.
Find out who else is on it and which ones are happening in Manchester HERE.
What other events are happening in the city for the BRIT Awards?
Now, besides the pop-up DJ AG set we’ve already mentioned, there are literally TONNES of other bits going on in and around central Manchester to toast their Co-op Live debut.
From the likes of the partnered BRITs ‘FRINGE LAB’ taking place over at New Century Hall – a one-day musicindustry event and live showcase featuring local names like Nxdia, Chloe Slater and more – there is also an entirely FREE music festival happening at the Printworks for the very first time.
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There’s also the dedicated art trail around the city, put together by Manc creatives like Stanley Chow, Kim Thompson and ‘Oskar with a K’, just to name a few.
Oh, AND you’ve got the official ‘A Microdot Design’ exhibit at Piccadilly by Brian Cannon (the man behind Oasis’ Definitely Maybe and countless other bands’ artwork) as well, which has been curated specifically for this year’s BRIT Awards.
Gosh, we really are being spoiled rotten, aren’t we?
Put simply, there’s quite a lot going on this week and even after the ceremony and afterparties have wrapped up in the early hours of Sunday morning. You can see a more extensive list right HERE.
For those of you heading to Co-op Live to watch the BRIT Awards shows in person, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s also worth noting that anyone with a valid BRITs ticket is granted FREE travel from all zones travelling to and from the venue.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
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Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Afterparties and ‘rumours’
Last but not least, we already know that at leastone of the official BRITs afterparties is happening at Soho House on behalf of Sony, but it’s likely that different labels, promoters, artists, and so on will be hosting others at different locations around Manchester city centre.
We do know from when Northern Quarter hosted the Chanel Métiers d’art fashion show that plenty of A-listers went out to various NQ bars and restaurants in and around the event, so we’d wager on a fair few more doing the same on event weekend – especially any famous Mancs.
Not to make you lose your minds too much, but we’ve also heard talk of some rumoured guests turning up for the ceremony itself, so who knows who you might spot walking around this weekend?
All we’ll say is that if you want to catch a glimpse of any of them, be polite and Swift about it…
1 week to go!
That’s right, move over London, it’s our turn💪
The @BRITs take place in Manchester, at the @thecooplive, next Saturday, the first time it’s moved out of London.
Emily Sergeant -
9th March 2022 
