Coronation Street set refused listed status

ITV is selling the famous street along with the rest of the Granada site

An application to give listed status to the Coronation Street set, which would help secure its future when it is vacated next year, has been refused.

The ITV soap is due to move from its current home in central Manchester to a new site in Trafford next spring.

English Heritage said the set, which has been used since 1982, was not historic enough to be listed. Listing would restrict how it could be altered.

ITV is selling the former Granada plot and the set's future is uncertain.

The broadcaster is considering all bids but has told the council it is looking at whether a tourist attraction based around the famous terraced street would be viable.

Listed status is given to buildings of special architectural and historic interest, but a building has normally to be at least 30 years old to be eligible.

A statement from English Heritage said the current Coronation Street set was "certainly unusual", but added: "However, the criteria against which we must assess the architectural significance of buildings - or in this case, a television set - is extremely strict.

'Not appropriate'

"The oldest buildings are just less than 30 years old - and most do not have interiors and therefore exist as facades, most of which have been altered.

"The set as it stands today is an active reminder of the long-running television programme, rather than a survival of an earlier era of television productions."

English Heritage's Nick Bridgland added: "While listing is not appropriate for the set, a better solution could be for a local group or organisation with an interest to care for it and allow Corrie fans from all over the world to visit and enjoy it."

The soap, along with ITV's other Manchester operations, is due to move to purpose-built studios at the MediaCityUK complex, adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal.

An ITV spokesperson said: "ITV continues to consider the future use of the Coronation Street set ahead of our planned move to MediaCity."

ITV did not make the listing application. English Heritage said the application was made by an individual and it was unable to reveal their identity.

The Granada set did become a tourist attraction in 1988 and the tours are fondly remembered. But they ended in 2001 after visitor numbers dropped and Coronation Street's filming schedule increased.