A major government office complex has been given planning consent
to be built in Manchester.
Manchester Digital Campus will be a state-of-the-art hub
constructed on the former Central Retail Park in Ancoats after
the city's planning committee approved the Government Property
Agency's (GPA) scheme at a meeting today (Thursday 20 February
2025).
The campus will bring together a number of Civil Service
departments with a focus around digital skills and create
significant employment opportunities and economic benefits in the
region.
Mark Bourgeois, CEO at the GPA, said:
We are delighted with the decision and are grateful for the
support of the many stakeholders in Manchester. The GPA team is
proud to be working on this exciting project in support of the
Government's growth mission.
The GPA exchanged contracts to acquire five-and-a-half acres of
the former Central Retail Park in Ancoats from the city council
in May last year with a view to constructing a state-of-the-art
digital campus.
Both the agency and Manchester City Council have been working
together on the plans for Ancoats, culminating in a parallel
proposal for the digital campus and an adjacent public park.
The council and the GPA held a joint consultation around emerging
plans for the former retail site in August and September last
year, inviting local residents, businesses and other stakeholders
to help guide proposals to create the new government digital
campus – delivered by the GPA – and a new city centre park space,
delivered by the council.
Mark added:
We are pleased to be working with Manchester City Council on
these regeneration plans, and look forward to creating
fantastic and sustainable workplaces to support the
transformation of the Civil Service.
This proposed development, builds on the work MCC and the GPA
undertook last year in putting in place an updated Strategic
Regeneration Framework, and the shared ambition to regenerate the
Ancoats former retail site, creating employment and wider
business opportunities, supported by the digital campus.
New city centre park
Alongside the new campus, the new park will improve access to
quality green space in Manchester city centre, creating a
connection to the existing Cotton Field Park behind and through
to Ancoats and New Islington.
The park space has been designed in collaboration with landscape
architects Planit-IE following public consultation.
A central lawn and plaza will create a green buffer to Great
Ancoats Street, with various tiered gardens navigating the
different level changes across the site, alongside play areas,
paths and tranquil areas to escape the noise of the city. The
park has been designed to make sure that it is fully
accessible.
The site will accommodate new walking and cycling routes, helping
to link to other city centre active travel investment in Ancoats,
Northern Quarter and out towards the Etihad Campus.
To note – development across the rest of the site will be brought
forward as a later development phase. More information will be
made available in due course.
Leader of the Council, Bev Craig said:
Gaining planning approval for both the GPA's digital campus and
the latest city centre park is the launchpad for the
transformation of this site.
Our ambition has long been to bring the former retail park back
into active use and working in partnership with the GPA we are
delivering a quality, low carbon development that will bring
7,000 civil service jobs to Manchester in the coming years.
The new digital campus plays to Manchester's strengths. We have
fostered one of the fastest growing tech and digital communities
in the UK, with a growing international reputation. The
transformation of this brownfield site supports our ongoing
growth in the sector, which translates into quality employment
and development opportunities for our residents.
We stand ready to work with this Government to bring forward
other ambitious investments in Manchester that can continue our
path of sustainable economic growth, supporting our residents to
thrive.
At the same time, the new park is a welcome addition to our city
centre green spaces and a reimagining of the former retail site
that has for many years acted only as a barrier to the community
behind – and an eyesore in one of the most exciting parts of our
city.
