Development partner named for new £850m Manchester city centre district

Specialist urban regeneration and property developer U+I has been formally appointed as development partner by The Mayfield Partnership to deliver the regeneration of the Mayfield quarter, a 24 acre site that will extend Manchester city centre.

The £850m development is the largest regeneration scheme planned for Manchester city centre over the next 10 years.

The core of the site around Mayfield Station has been derelict for decades and the regeneration will breathe new life into what was once a thriving industrial district. Mayfield will provide 1,300 homes, 75,000 sq m of office space, a 350-bedroom hotel, retail and leisure facilities.

It will also reshape and extend the heart of the city centre eastwards towards the inner ring road, and act as a catalyst for the further regeneration of the wider Piccadilly area.

“We are looking forward to 2017 and listening and learning to the local community and other stakeholders about their aspirations for Mayfield,” said Richard Upton, deputy chief executive of U+I. “We have many ideas, but nothing is set in stone, which is why the community engagement exercise is so important to us.

“We want to begin the revival of Mayfield in 2017 and look forward to sharing our plans to open up part of the site for use by the community as soon as we can.”

The Mayfield Partnership comprises LCR (London & Continental Railways), the government-owned company that specialises in the management, development and disposal of property assets, Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester.

The partnership’s vision is for Mayfield to become a distinctive new urban quarter, spark the revival of an important but unloved part of the city, and create more than 7,000 jobs over the next decade.

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said: “This is a key gateway site and we are determined to ensure a world-class scheme which will create thousands of jobs and make a major contribution to the regeneration of the Piccadilly area.

“Together with the Network Rail Northern Hub scheme and planned HS2 station, the Mayfield Quarter will significantly strengthen and enliven this part of the city centre.”

Councillor Andrew Fender of Transport for Greater Manchester said: “This is a transformational scheme that will breathe new life into a historic corner of Manchester, capitalising on excellent transport links and a region in bloom. I am really looking forward to watching the blueprints come to life.”