IT's six years since the first masterplan was drawn up for the area around Mayfield, but now it seems there could be some movement for the former station site.

The masterplan would create 800,000sq ft of office space, together with 1,300 homes, a 350-bedroom hotel, retail and leisure facilities and a new six acre city park

Back in 2009 the area was being billed as the 'Whitehall of the North' with the promise of 5,000 civil service jobs as government devolved from London.

That never happened and two years later the brief to London and Edinburgh-based architects, Bennetts Associates, was expanded to include residential, hotels, restaurants and bars as well as offices to try and attract private investment.

Plans to use Mayfield as a music and arts venue in 2013 as a backstop during the recession almost succeeded until the owners pulled the plug and in 2014 the revised mixed-use framework was adopted by the City.

All were but drawings and dreams until January 2015 when the City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester joined forces with the Government-owned London & Continental Railways (LCR) which owns 6.2 acres of the total 24 acre site (LCR was also involved in Ebbsfleet and St Pancreas stations – very different but equally excellent).

.Mayfield's new six acre park

Now land ownership is pooled things should progress, the tricky part now is getting private investors and institutions to have the confidence to invest the estimated £750m needed to deliver the new scheme.

While the DevoManc deal coupled with recent news that a Government department is looking for 500,000 sq ft of space in Manchester means that the 2009 masterplan may not have been too far off the mark.

When the land pooling agreement was announced, David Joy, chief executive of LCR said: “We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester which secures the future of the Mayfield Quarter and assists the wider regeneration of Manchester.

“The transformation of Mayfield into an urban development will not only provide a new high quality public and commercial space but will enhance connectivity beyond the site and act as a catalyst to maximise the regeneration potential of the area. We have made good progress up to this point, including discussions with Government Property Unit (GPU) about government tenants taking pre-lets of up to 40,000m² of office space, and will continue to work with our partners to ensure the successful delivery of a scheme which brings long term benefits to the local area.”

 

The masterplan would create 800,000sq ft of office space, together with 1,300 homes, a 350-bedroom hotel, retail and leisure facilities and a new six acre city park centred along a remediated River Medlock.

More than enough office space for the Government requirement then, and that’s before you factor in the wider Piccadilly framework next door, again by Bennetts, which will provide over 14 million sq ft of mixed-use space.

Mayfield forms part of this larger masterplan which takes up 14% of the overall area of the city centre and also includes a brand new all-singing, all-dancing HS2-ready Piccadilly Station - a project that has already been singled out as a post-election priority by City Council Chief Executive Sir Howard Bernstein.

According to Bennetts: “This commission for Manchester City Council (MCC) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) captures the regenerative potential of the HS2 rail link’s arrival and envisages a major transport hub at its heart, befitting Manchester’s status as a world-class city.

"Themes driving the proposals include place-making, connectivity and maximising the regeneration benefit of a ‘once-in-a-century’ opportunity. A major new thoroughfare linking three new public spaces establishes a highly distinctive location and forms a threshold for the station and new city districts. A grid of streets and squares extends the grain of the city centre and contains over 14 million sq ft of mixed-use space in a range of ‘neighbourhoods of choice’.”

Meanwhile Northern Rail’s Northern Hub initiative to re-invent the railway arches for shops, art and culture is due to be completed in 2018, while the Warehouse Project will be staging a temporary event at the Mayfield Project as part of the Manchester International Festival (Friday 17 to Saturday 18 July).

Follow @jillburdett on twitter.