Synagogue sold for Gary Neville redevelopment to close

The 1953 synagogue was sold for £15m last year

The only synagogue in Manchester city centre is set to close after 70 years to make way for former footballer Gary Neville's redevelopment plans.

Manchester Reform Synagogue agreed to sell the building on Jackson's Row for £15m last year, allowing the scheme to go ahead.

The site will close following its final service later.

Work on the first phase of the ex-Manchester United star's £200m plans began earlier this year.

Principal Rabbi, Robyn Ashworth-Steen, said: "We all know that to be a Jew is to be a wanderer and that Judaism is much more a people than a place.

"As the second oldest progressive community in the country, we know what it is to seek a new home and make an impact on the city of Manchester.

"We are at such an exciting time in our community's history," she added.

"With our great leaders, and a proud history, the next couple of years, as we leave Jackson's Row and find a new home, is a time full of potential."

Plans for the site were unveiled in 2016 but the project has been hit by a series of setbacks

Neville's long-awaited development was approved in 2018 after the original plans sparked a huge backlash.

The redevelopment will see two towers built in Manchester housing flats, offices and leisure facilities.

Construction of the first nine-storey block, which will have a rooftop bar, started in February. It has not been revealed when work on the second 41-storey block will begin.

The President of Manchester Reform, Jane Black, said: "There are many mixed emotions as we approach the end of our time at Jackson's Row, but this move ensures that Manchester's Reform Community will have a guaranteed long-term future."

Manchester Reform Synagogue have set up a temporary base at Manchester University's Chaplaincy on Oxford Road.