Leisure block plan to fill in border at Piccadilly Gardens
THE only empty site on the edge of Piccadilly Gardens could be filled with a 10-storey shop, office and ‘leisure’ block under plans submitted to the council.
Proposals for the new scheme at the corner of Lever Street say it would ‘add to the transformation’ of the gardens, planned by the town hall and Legal and General, by developing a plot that has been empty for a decade.
Bosses at Harrow-based Trafalgar Leisure want to build both on the vacant site and behind the small listed building next door at number 47, which currently contains the Marhaba newsagent.
At its height, behind Marhaba, the new building would stand at ten storeys – considerably higher than the three-storey 18th Century building in front of it and taller than most in the surrounding area. However, the application points out that City Tower at the other side of Piccadilly Gardens is 30 storeys tall, adding that the council feels it is ‘acceptable to build higher than adjacent buildings to maintain a varied and interesting tapestry of built form’ in that part of Manchester.
It adds: “The integration of the 18th Century listed building into a contemporary mixed use new building represents a unique opportunity to create a development that reflects the site’s prominence, and setting, within the distinct Northern Quarter setting.”
The new scheme has the potential to mark a ‘gateway’ site between Piccadilly Gardens and the Northern Quarter, it adds.
As a whole, the development would have shops at ground floor level with restaurant, bar or leisure units on the first floor and in the basement, plus offices in the upper floors with a boardroom and roof-top terrace at the top. Its shop entrance would be at the corner of Piccadilly Gardens, the office entrance further down Lever Street and access to new basement space – earmarked for ‘leisure’ or retail – would be through the listed unit itself. A warehouse behind the frontage, facing on to Back Piccadilly, would be demolished for the project. According to the application, the design has been ‘well received’ by Manchester council’s planning department and is supported by Historic England. It is expected to go before councillors in the coming months.
The new scheme has potential to mark a gateway site between Piccadilly Gardens and the Northern Quarter