A NEW Piccadilly Station will be a funding priority following the election in May, according to Council Chief Executive Sir Howard Bernstein.
"We will knock it around for the Northern Hub, then again for HS2, then again for HS3, then decide that actually what we need is a new station."
With the extra capacity required to deal with the impact of Network Rail's £600m Northern Hub project (due to be completed by 2019), followed by major work for HS2 and potentially HS3, Bernstein wants to secure an expansion of Piccadilly Station before all the works begin.
“How we approach Manchester’s transport agenda is crucial to our long term success," Bernstein told an invited business audience, "and you are going to be hearing a lot about a new station post-election.
“If we are not careful we will have one or two big building projects – we will knock it around for the Northern Hub and then disappear, then knock it about again for HS2 and disappear, then again for HS3. And then decide that actually what we need is a new station.
“We have to get things in the right order and anticipate and plan for the future. There is a need for a different approach about how we drive station investment.”
Piccadilly Northern Hub
Having recently secured a major deal with London and Continental Railways (LCR) for the adjacent and derelict Mayfield Station site - which will become 230,000 sq ft mixed use site including 1300 new homes, a hotel, offices, retail and leisure - the council have turned their attention towards other major nearby sites, most notably the crumbling London Road Fire Station.
The City Council are currently pushing to seize the Grade II-listed London Road Fire Station - listed on English Heritage's 'at risk register' since 1998 - from the negligent Britannia Hotels group for a second time in four years.
“It is clear the owners of the Fire Station do not want to develop the building, and there is no shame in that." Bernstein told the audience, "But what they now should do is sell it to us and we will find somebody who will develop it.
"This site will become even more pivotal to the regeneration framework in the next few years. We have to move the site along and will keep pressing to do that.”
London Road Fire Station
Sir Howard Bernstein
Bernstein also discussed the upcoming MIPIM event in Cannes - the world's largest property market conference - where 70 organisations from the Manchester delegation will join over 20,000 delegates and 2000 exhibitors from 93 countries to showcase the best of Manchester's upcoming projects including Manchester Life and the £235m Sir Henry Royce Institiute.
Sir Howard said: “What MIPIM does is give people like me the chance to see what other cities are doing and embrace new opportunities and ideas.”
Asked to pick out cities from which Manchester could learn, Bernstein named Hamburg – “The way it has faced two different directions at one time is very clever, one way to Europe, the other to China,” and Barcelona – “Along with us it is the best example of how a sporting event can transform a city.”
The full conversation can be viewed here www.slaterheelis.co.uk.
(main image credit: 'Manchester Picadilly Station Panorama' by Nikthestoned)
