Manchester set to welcome oasis of a different kind

Plans for the "digital campus" and green oasis are set to be submitted later this year

A run down 10-acre site in Manchester is set to be transformed into a green oasis, council bosses have said.

Plans to turn the former Central Retail Park on Great Ancoats Street into a "digital campus" with a green space have been unveiled by Manchester City Council.

The council bought the site, which closed down in 2019, for £37m, but it has lain unused after plans for a pay-and-display car park were cancelled following a backlash.

Now council bosses hope to turn the derelict site into a "digital campus" and new green lung for the city, with council leader Bev Craig saying it would "help meet demand for high quality green space".

'Unlocked potential'

Announcing a consultation on the plans, Ms Craig said the new park would also complement other green investment in the neighbourhood, including Ancoats Green.

She said they were "beginning to see the potential of this site unlocked" with the council working alongside the Government Property Agency to create the park and campus that would create 7,000 civil servant jobs, consolidating various digital government departments under one roof.

The council has shared a computer generated image revealing potential park designs.

Council bosses said the site would connect with the existing Cotton Field Park on New Islington Marina which neighbours the land, with the park "comparable in size to Ancoats Green" at 2.4 acres.

Numerous civil service departments were expected to call the digital campus home, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The public consultation will end on 23 September, with the proposals being finalised for a separate planning application for the park to be submitted later this year.

Feedback can be submitted online or at two in-person public consultation events at Halle St Peter’s at 12pm to 2.30pm or 5pm to 7pm on 10 September.