New Manchester park gets £23m government cash boost

Work on the park's first phase should be completed within two years

Plans to create the first public park in Manchester for 90 years have received a £23m funding boost.

Mayfield Park is proposed for a site on the banks of the River Medlock, close to Piccadilly station .

The 6.5-acre (26,000 sq m) public space is part of a £1.4bn plan to regenerate a run-down area south of Fairfield Street with hundreds of new homes.

The project was included in a "Getting Building Fund" for schemes to be delivered within 18 months.

The park is Manchester's first public one for more than 90 years

Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: "The truly transformative potential of the Mayfield project should not be underestimated, and this funding will not just unlock the opportunity to bring forward the new city park, but in reality paves the way for the entire Mayfield project to be delivered over the next decade."

He added: "To provide a new green space in the city centre at the scale proposed is a once in a generation opportunity to bring life back to an underused part of the city."

He said the investment was "particularly welcome at a time when Manchester is focused on economic recovery following the pandemic."

The first phase of the Mayfield project should take two years but the whole scheme could take 15 years to complete.

The park will be Manchester's first public park since Wythenshawe Park was given to the city in 1926.