Plans for Manchester city centre’s new public park go on display

Plans for a proposed new park in Manchester city centre have gone on display as part of a public consultation on the masterplan for the historic Mayfield district of the city.

The centrepiece of the proposed regeneration of the Mayfield area, which covers 24 acres of under-utilised land close to Piccadilly Station through which the River Medlock runs, will be a 6.5-acre park.

It will be a sequence of interlocking spaces rather than one big open area, with footbridges, significant mature trees, cobbles and existing structures preserved and restored.

The plans envisage five distinctive neighbourhoods clustered around the park and detail the retention of the main historic buildings on the site.

These include the Mayfield Station including its platforms, the Mayfield Depot and the associated railway arches which form the site boundary along Temperance Street.

The plans are being promoted by the Mayfield Partnership, a joint venture between LCR, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and regeneration specialist U+I.

Its vision is to create ‘a world-class, transformational, distinctive and imaginative commercially-led neighbourhood, anchored by Mayfield park, which will become a powerhouse of socio-economic productivity’.

“Mayfield is a site like no other in the city centre and we are going to create something genuinely unique which all people of the city can enjoy,” says development director at U+I, James Heather.

A formal planning document which broadly outlines the development principles the partnership will pursue to deliver its vision can be downloaded here.

Public consultation is taking place at Medlock Primary School, Wadeson Road, Ardwick on Thursday March 1st from 2pm–6pm; Piccadilly Gardens, Victoria Statue on Saturday March 3rd from 9am – 5pm; and Archway Nine, Temperance Street, Mayfield on Thursday March 8th from 12 noon – 6pm, Friday March 9th from 12 noon – 8pm, Saturday March 10th from 12 noon– 8pm, and Sunday March 11th from 12 noon – 5pm.

The Temperance Street display will feature a winter wood display to reflect the new green space which would be created by the development.