St Peter’s Square plans go on show

Proposals to transform St Peter’s Square into a world-class public space are about to go on display.

Manchester City Council is running an international design competition for leading architects to come up with designs for a square which will become a proud symbol of the city.

It is part of the Council's transformation programme which is also seeing the extensive refurbishment of the Town Hall Extension and Central Library to enable them to deliver state-of-the-art services and to preserve them for future generations.

The five shortlisted designs for St Peter's Square will be on display in the former Manchester Visitor Information Centre on the corner of St Peter's Square and Cooper Street on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 July (both 8am to 8pm) and Saturday 17 July (10am to 3pm). Visitors will have the chance to feed back on the proposals and learn more about the council's plans to improve public services, access and public spaces.

The transformed square will stand at the heart of an area which is attracting massive private and public sector investment - with an estimated £1 billion of redevelopment and up to 9,000 jobs on the way in the next few years.

This includes:

• The replacement of Elisabeth House (the currently empty building opposite Central Library) with a major new office building.
• The redevelopment of Peterloo House in Dickenson Street.
• New transport facilities between Manchester Central and Deansgate station.
• The extensive refurbishment of Manchester Central Library and the Town Hall Extension (the part of the Town Hall nearest to the Central Library) to preserve both Grade II*-listed buildings while enabling them to deliver state-of-the-art services.

St Peter's Square currently lacks a unified identity and is somewhat cluttered because it has evolved gradually over the years.

Now the competition offers the chance to transform the square into somewhere which will give a great first impression of the city.

Traffic will be substantially reduced to make the square more pedestrian-friendly. Buses will be re-routed and only Metrolink trams will run through it.

The square will become a livelier, more flexible space where people can relax and small scale events can be held. And the redevelopment of other nearby buildings will create cafes and other bustling ground floor activity.

Councillor Bernard Priest, Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources, said: "St Peter's Square is an important public space. It may be slightly underwhelming at the moment, but this competition gives us a once in a generation opportunity to make it truly outstanding.

"Manchester is a city with growing international stature and we're determined to provide a world-class space which befits that reputation.

"The transformation of the square will also help attract and support jobs by complementing the huge investment taking place in the surrounding area."

Plans include the creation of a contemporary memorial to the 1819 Peterloo Massacre. The cenotaph will not be affected by the redesign of the square and will remain in its current position.

The winning design team will be selected later this summer and a separate artist appointed to work alongside them to create the Peterloo memorial.