Manchester Council has officially approved plans for a major revamp of Piccadilly Gardens, a city-centre park that has struggled to shake its bad reputation. The redesign, made in collaboration with Greater Manchester Police and Transport for Greater Manchester, is geared at making the community space ‘greener, safer, and more welcoming’.
World-class destination vision
Council bosses say they plan to turn Piccadilly Gardens into a ‘world class destination’ – starting with bulldozing the ‘unsightly’ low concrete walls and ‘unreliable’ fountains. The new park will be designed around a central, oval lawn, with a pedestrian route connecting Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter through the gardens to the transport interchange in the south.
A bigger play area for young kids and a dedicated public space to hold events will be built around its perimeter, along with other pockets of vegetation. Preparation on the site will start this autumn, with the major works set for November this year.
Security and management plans
The greenlit plans also include strategies to crack down on some of the ‘worst associations’ linked to Piccadilly Gardens. More CCTV and better lighting will also improve security in the gardens long plagued by criminal activity and violence. A new management plan by the council, GMP, TfGM, businesses, and residents will keep the gardens ‘safe, clean and well-maintained’.
The revamp was shaped by more than 400 responses from residents, with many commenting on the ‘long-standing concerns with anti-social and criminal behaviour’.
Council and public response
Councillor Garry Bridges, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “We’re getting on with the task of improving Piccadilly Gardens. It’s a big priority for me.
“Securing planning permission means that before this year is out, we can get started properly on work to transform the space and have it finished and ready for the public to use next year.
“Piccadilly Gardens has huge potential to be a real asset to the city and its people. We know it hasn’t been good enough – but that’s about to change.”
In a design statement, Manchester council said: “As Manchester’s front door, Piccadilly Gardens is where first impressions are formed, where journeys begin and end, and where the energy, diversity and character of the city are on display every day. Today, those first impressions are not what we all need and expect them to be. Structures and behaviours have crept in, meaning the gardens of today hold all the wrong associations and do not speak positively to the city and its citizens.
“Shaped by extensive public engagement and informed by a renewed ambition for the city centre, this vision looks to reimagine Piccadilly Gardens as a greener, safer, and more welcoming destination that reflects modern Manchester: confident, inclusive, creative, and cosmopolitan. The proposals will transform the gardens from a place people simply move through into a destination where people of all ages and backgrounds choose to spend time, meet, play, relax and connect.”
Council officers approved the scheme under a delegated decision on Friday, September 25, after no objections were received from the public. The popular Piccadilly street food market will be relocated as part of the plans.
