1967 city centre map

8/12/2019 1967 City Centre Map

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ity entre apr r


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Manchester City Centre Map (1967)

This report has been digitised by Joe Blakey and

Martin Dodge from the Department of Geography,

University of Manchester. The digitisation was

supported by the Manchester Statistical Societys

Campion Fund.

Permission to digitise and release the report under

Creative Commons license was kindly granted by

Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives,

Manchester City Council.

(Email: [email protected])

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-

NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. 20July 2013.


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City andCounty orough ofManchester

City entre Map 967

J SMillar B Arch M TPI ARIBACity Planning OfficerTown Hall Manchester 20 6 1 C E N 3377


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Contents

ForewordIntroduction

1 Historical and Regional Context 52 City Centre Uses 133 Circulation and Communications 274 Environmental Standards and Objectives 395 Comprehensive Planning Proposals 556 Implementation 737 Summary 81

AppendicesMapsAcknowledgements


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oreword 1 , T he C ity C e n tr e M ap, b r ~ n g ~ n gogetherInany sep ara te hu t ~n t e r - r e l a t e d o l ic i es andproposa l s , is t o f or m the b a s ~ s o r fu r t h e rconsultations with those intereste In theplannlng of the Ce ntr al Ar ea of Ma nch est er.2 The principal contents of this report havealr ea dy been the sub ject of consultat ion overa long period with the var iou s Chief Officersand Departments of the Corporation, wit11 theCi ty Engineer o Salf ord, and with a widerang e of organisa tions, including theCha mbe rs of Tr ad e and Comrnerc e Valuableadvice and ass is tan ce has al so been given bythe regional re pre sen tat ive s of the Mill istriesconcerned wi th land use and t ransport at ionprob lems ,3 If th er e i s one cen tra l them e runningthrough these proposals i t i s the importanceand value of c ivili sed cit y life and the needfo r c a r e and at tent ion to be paid to the quali tyof envir onme nt. The fundamenta lrelationship between transportation and landuse planning ha s meant that the cl oses tco l labora t ion has beennecessa ry a t eve rysta ge between the De part ment s of the CityEngineer and the Ci ty Planning Officer . Theco-operat ion and ass is tan ce given by othe rChief Off icers and Corpora t ion Departments ,part icular ly the Ci ty Archi tect and the Ci tyEst ate s Officer i s grateful ly acknowledged.4 Final ly , i t i s encouraging that s o manyintending developers and thei r profess iona ladv i s ers recogn i se the need fo r acomp rehe nsive appr oach and the wisdom oftaki ng a lo nger t e r m view of both the ir ownand the Ci ty s in te r es t s . I t i s s o mu chsim ple r and speed ier to submit and deal withprojects on a p iecemeal bas is and thepatience generally shown in the infinitelymor e d i ff icul t and con ~pl ex as k of rela t in gdevelopment propos als t o wider planningcons idera tions i s apprec ia ted . Only by acombination of effo rt, with public and priva tei n t e r e s t s w o rki ng t o g et h e r a s a t e am, can t heob jec t ives se t ou t in th i s re por t be rea l i sed .

lef t)City centre looking south east


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lntrodu t ion 1 . The context o r point of dep art ure in considerin)these draf t proposals for the Central Area i sthe City Development Plan which wassubmitted t o the Minis try of Housing and LocalGovernment in 195 1, and approv ed in 1961.As modified by the Minister, the Plan showedthe Cen tra l Area by a general notation forprincipal business and shopping use s to s er vethe town a s a whole with the excep tion of ana re a situated broadly between the Town Halland the Cour ts of Ju stic e which was shown fo rgeneral civic, cul tural o r other specialuse s (see Map No. 3) .2 The Minister expected that in due cour semor e comprehensive and detailed proposalsfo r the City Centr e would be prepa red , aft erth er e had been opportunity to ca r r y outfurther study and resea rch . Thes e viewsanticipated to som e extent the advice containedin the Bulletin Town Cen tre s, Approach toRenewal , which wa s published jointly in 1962,by the Minis try of Housing and Loc alGovernment and the Ministry of T ra ns po rt .Thi s recommended that a non-statutory TownCe ntr e Map should be pr ep ar ed by PlanningAuthorities, incorporating mo re detailedproposals for central ar ea s than theDevelopment Plan technique had madepossible.3 . The Town Ce nt re Map would beaccompanied by a more detailed writtenexplanation s ettin g out the ma jo r planningobjectives in the Ce ntral Area and the proposalswould fir st be presented in draft form, toencourage comment s and maximum part icipationby int ere ste d bodies and the ge ner al public.After full consideration had been given andany amendments made to the draf t proposals,it would then be open to the A uthority toa doptthe Town Centre Map by re solu tion .The Minister would then be able to considerany mat ter s, for example, c omprehensivedevelopment ar ea proposals , which cam e tohim fo r deci sion , in the context of the ove ral lproposals for the c ent re .4 The Town Cen tre Map concept, in its turnhas been very much a forerunn er, o r a mile-stone, along the co ur se of thinking which ledup to the pr oposals of the Planning AdvisoryGroup Th e Fu tu re of Development Plans ,which we re published in 1965. The Group sbasic c ri ti ci sm of the Development Plansyst em, a s existing, was that it was toodetailed for s ome purposes, namely the settingout of the broad strategic planning objectivesfor the ar ea a s a whole which were the maincon cer n of the Mi nis ter and yet not sufficientlydetailed to provide a positive guide to the for mand quality of development at th e lo calplanning level. It advocated, t her efo re, thata mo re broadly based Urban Struc ture Mapshould be prepared on the str tegic level,


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w h i l s t l o c al o r d i s t r i c t p l a n s , a t a l a r g e rs c a l e w ou ld b e p r e p a r e d i n r e s p e c t of t h e i n o r ed e t a i le d p r o p o s a l s i nc lu d in g t h o s e f o r Ac t ionA r e a s w h e r e d e v el o pm e n t w a s i m m i n e n t .O nl y th e s t r u c t u r e p la n s w ou ld r e q u i r e t h eM i n i s t e r s a p p r o v a l , w h i l s t t h e l o c a l p l a n sw o u l d b e a d o p t e d b y t h e A u t h o r i t y a f t e rc o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h i n t e r e s t e d p a r t i e s5 T h e G o v e r n m e n t h a s n o w an n o u n ce d i t si n t e n ti o n t o p r e p a r e n e w p l an n i n g l e g is l a t io n ,t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s of t h eP l a nn i n g A d v i s o r y G r o u p , a n d t h e d r a f t C i t yC e n t r e p r o p o s a l s h a v e b e e n p r e p a r e d wit11p a r t i c u l a r r e g a r d t o b o th t h e B u l le ti n o n T o w nC e n t r e s a n d th e P . A . G . p r o p o s a l s . T h e C i tyC e n t r e M a p c a n , t h e r e f o r e , b e r e g a r d e d as al o c a l o r d i s t r i c t p l a n . I t i s p r e p a r e d i n t h ec o n t e x t of t h e a p p r o v e d D e v e l o p m e n t P l a n f o rt h e C i t y , b ut a n t i c i p a t e s a s f a r a s is p o s s i b l ea t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e , t h e U rb a n S t r u c t u r ec o n c e p t w h i c h w i l l r e c o g n i s e m o r e ad e q u at e ly ,t h e C i t y s p l a c e i n t h e R e g io n.I n the wo r d s of the P . A . G . r e p o r t :

T h e e m p h a s i s i s on t h e d y n a m i c s of u r b a ng r0 w t.h a n d r e n e w a l , o n t h e r e l a t i o n s h i pb e tw e e n l an d u s e s a n d t r a n s p o r t . T h ep r i n c i p a l a i m , h o w e v e r , s t o p r o v id e ab a s i c p l a n n i n g d o c u m e n t w h i c h i s c a p a b l e ofe x p r e s s i n g in a c l e a r a n d i n t e g ra t e d w a y t h ep o l i c ie s a n d o b j e c t i v e s t h a t a r e t o s h a p e t h et o w n s f u t u r e .

6 . T h e C e n t r a l A r e a of M a n c h e s t er s e r v e s a na r e a m u c h l a r g e r t h an t h e C i ty i t s e l f . I t i se s s e n t i a l l y a r e g i o n a l c e n t r e a n d t h e e x te n ta n d c h a r a c t e r of its f u n c t i o n s a n d a c t i v i t i e s sb o th g r o w i n g a n d c h a n g i n g . T h e r e p o r t b e g in sb y c o n s i d e r i n g i t s p o s i t i o n in t h e r e g i o n a lc o n te x t a n d t h e n e e d t o p r ov i d e m o r e a t t r a c t i v ea n d e f f ic i en t sh o pp i ng , c o m m e r c i a l , s o c i a la n d h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n f a c i I i t i e s ; a c e n t r e ofa t t r a c t i o n t o s e r v e s o u th e a s t L a n c a s h i r e an dn o r th e a s t C h e s h i r e .7 T h e n f o l l o w s a n a n a l y s i s of t h e f o r m of t h eC i t y C e n t r e i t s e l f a n d o f t h e p r i n c i p a la c t i v i t i e s t h a t o c c u r w i t hi n i t , h ow t h e l a n d isu s e d a n d t h e t r e n d s l i ke l y t o a f f e c t l a nd u s e i nt h e f u t u r e .8 P r o b l e m s of c o n g e s ti o n a r e c o m m o n t o a l lm a j o r c i t i e s a n d i m p r o v e m e n t of a c c e s s i s af u n d a m e n t a l n e c e s s i t y if t h e e c o n o m i c w e l l -b e i n g a n d p r o s p e r i t y of t h e C i ty s t o b e a t d e db y p h y s i c a l p l a n n i n g . R e s e a r c h i n t o t h er e g i o n a l t r a n s p o r t a t i o n p i c t u r e i s by n o m e a n sc o m p l e t e , b ut t h e p r i n c i p l e s of c a r p a r k in gp r o v i s i o n in r e l a t i o n t o hi gh w ay c a p a c i t y ,t h e n e e d s a n d s a f e t y of t h e p e d e s t r i a n , a n d t h er e s p e c t i v e r o l e s of p u b li c a n d p r i v a t e t r a n s p o r ta s a p p l i e d t o t h e p l a nn i n g of t h e c o n u r b a t i o nc e n t r e , a r e d e a l t w i th i n t h e s e c t i o n onC i r c u l a t io n a n d C o m m u n i c a t i o n s .

9 . N ot l e s s i m p o r t a n t i s t h e n ee d t o m a k e t h eC i t y C e n t r e a n a t t r a c t i v e a n d w o r th w h il ep l a c e t o v i si t , w h e t h e r i t s t o w o r k , t o sh o po r t o l i v e a n d a lt h o u gh t h e y c a n n o t b eq u a n t i f ie d e a s i l y , h u m a n s c a l e an d v a l u e s a n ds t a n d a r d s o f q u al i t y w i ll h a v e a g r e a t d e a l t od o w i th t h e s u c c e s s o r o t h e r w i s e of a n yr e n ew a l s c h e m e s . T h e n e e d t o c o n s e r v ewha t s good a nd of va lue a n d the qu e s t i on s ofi n t e n s it y , c h a r a c t e r a n d a m e n i t y p r o v i s i on s i na r e a s r e q u i r in g r e de v eI o pi ne n t, a r e d i s cu s s e du n d e r t h e h e a d i n g of E n v i r o n m e n t a l S t a n d a r d sa n d O b j e c t i v e s .10 I n o r d e r n ot t o f r e e z e a s t r e e t s y s t e mi n h e r i t e d f r o m t h e d a y s of t h e h o r s e a n d c a r t ,t o e n a b l e r e a s o n a b l e s t a n d a r d s of d a y l i gh t i ngt o b e o b t ai n ed , t o c r e a t e o p en s p a c e a n da m e n i ty a r e a s a t r e a s o n a b l e c os t , a n d t or a t i o n a l i s e p e d e s t ri a n a n d v e h i c u l a rc i r c u l at i o n , i t i s e s s e n t i a l t h a t m a n y p a r t s oft h e c e n t r e , r i p e f o r r e d ev e l o p m e n t , s h ou ld b ed e a l t w i t h o n c o m p r e h e n s i v e l i n e s .C o m p r e h en s iv e p r o p o s a l s o r a d v i s o r ys c h e m e s h a v e b e en p ut f o r w a r d a n d a c c e p t e di n p r i n c i p l e b y t h e C i t y C o u n c i l a s a g u i d e t od e v e lo p m e n t o r a s a p r e l u d e t o t h e s u b m i s s i o nof f o r m a l a m e n d m e n t s t o t h e D e v e l o p m e n tP l a n . T h e r e p o r t i d e nt i fi e s a n d d e s c r i b e st h e s e p r o p o s a l s a n d d e s c r i b e s i n b r o ad t e r m st h e u s e s w h i ch w o ul d be a p p r o p r i a t e i n v a r i o u sp a r t s o f t h e C i t y . A lt ho ug h t h e s e s c h e m e st o g e t h e r c o v e r t h e g r e a t e r p a r t of t h e c o r e oft h e C i t y C e n t r e , t h e r e s t i l l r e m a i nc o n s i d e r a b l e a r e a s , p a r t i c u l a r l y o n t h ef r i n g e s , f o r w h ic h n o d e t a i le d p r o p o s a l s h a v ey e t b ee n p r e p a r e d .11 F i n a l l y , q u e s t i o n s of t i m i n g , c o s t s an dw a y s a n d m e a n s a r e c o n s i d e r e d in t h e s e c t io no n I m p l e m e n t a t i o n a n d a d i g e s t of s o m e of t h em o r e i m p o r ta n t r e s e a r c h i n fo r m at io n si n c lu d e d i n t h e a p p e n d i c e s .1 2 . T h i s r e p o r t a i m s t o s u m m a r i s e a nd b r in gt o g e t h e r th e r e l ev a n t r e s e a r c h a n d r e s u l t s ofw o r k c a r r i e d o u t in r e la t io A t o t h e C i ty C e n t r es i n c e t h e D e v e l op m e n t P la n w a s p r e p a r e d a n di t i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e d e c i s i o n s wh ic h h a v e s of a r b e e n t a k en b y t h e C it y C o u n c i l . At a t i m ew h e n t e c h n o l o g i c a l a n d s o c i a l c h a n g e s s or a p i d , n o p l an m a y b e r e g a r d e d a s a o n c e a n df o r a l l o p e r at i on an d t h e C i t y C e n t r e M a p, a sno w pu t f o r w a r d , d o e s no t a tt e m p t t o d o m o r et h an d e m o n s t r a t e t h e p r i n c i p a l p r o b l e m s t h a tn e ed t o b e t a ck l e d a t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e a n dp r o v i d e s a f r a m e w o r k f o r f u t u r e de v e lo p m e n tin r e s p o n s e t o c o n d i ti o n s a n d n e e d s a s t h eyn ow e x i s t a n d a s t h ey c a n b e f o r e s e e n a t t h i sp o in t in t i m e . It is a l s o h o p e d t h at i t w i l lp r o v i d e g u i d an c e to p r o s p e c t i v e d e v e l o p e r s ,a r c h i t e c t s , c o n s u l t a n t s a n d t h e g e n e r a l pu b li con p o l ic i e s s o f a r a do p te d f o r t h e C e n t r a l A r e aa n d s h o w ho w t h ey f i t i n to t h e w i d e r p i c t u r e .


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1 istorical and RegionalContext

North West Region -major urban ar ea s- existing andproposed motorways

1 . T h e C e n t r a l A r e a of M a n c h e s t e r , o n ce t h eh e a r t of a M e d i e v al i n a r k e t t ow n , t o d ay s e r v e sa m e t r o p o l i t a n r e g i o n of a b o u t 2 5m i l l i o np e o p l e , w h i l s t 1 m i l l i o n p e o p l e l i v e w i t h in af if ty m i l e r a d i u s . T h e c e n t r e p r o v id e sc o n ti n u al l y e x p an d i n g r a n g e of s e r v i c e s f o r a na r e a a n d p o p u la t io n w h i c h e x t e n d s f a r b e yo n dt h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e b o u n d a r i e s of t h e C i t y a n dw h i c h i s s e c o n d on ly t o G r e a t e r L on do n i ns i z e T h e C i ty R e g i o n s c e n t r e d o n L i v e r p o o la n d M a n c h e s t e r t o g e t h e r s u p p o r t a p o p u la t io nof over 4 m i l l i o n , a n d g ro w t h a n d i n d u s t r i a ld e v el o p m e n t h a s o c c u r e d p a r t i c u l a r l y a l o n gt h e l i n e s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n w h i c h l i nk t h e t w og r e a t c i t i e s . T h i s d e n se l y p o pu l at edM e r s e y b e l t of t h e N o r t h- W e s t a l r e a d y h a sm a n y of t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of a v i r t u a l l yc o nt in u ou s m e t r o p o l i t an r e g i o n o r s u p e rc o n u r b a t i o n w i t h in w h i c h t h e w i d e s t r a n g e ofi n d u s t r i a l a c t i v i t y w i l l b e f ou n d t o g e t h e r w i t ha h i g h d e g r e e o f p e r s o n a l m o b i l i t y a n dc h o i c e of e m p l o y m e n t .The growth of Manchester2 . M a n c h e s t e r ( a n d i t s i m m e d i a t e n ei g h b ou rS a l f o r d ) i s s t r a t e g i c a l l y s i t u a t e d a t t h e f o o t oft h e P e n n in e s i n t h e s o u t h - e a s t of L a n c a s h i r e .F r o i n e a r l i e s t t i m e s l o ca t io n a n d t o po g ra p hyh a v e b e e n f a v o u r a b le t o i t s g r o w t h a s ac e n t r e of t r a d e a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s s e r v i n ga w i d e a r e a .T h e M e d i e v al c e n t r e w a s s i t u a te d n e a r w h e r et h e C a t h e d r a l s t a n d s t od a y, c l o s e t o t h ec o n f l u e n c e of t h e I r k a n d t h e I r w e l l , a n d a tt h e c r o s s i n g of D e a n s g a t e a n d M a r k e t S t r e e t ,r o a d s e s t a b l i s h e d in R o m a n t i m e s . By t h e1 6t h C e n t u r y t h e C i t y w a s a l r e a d y a t h r i v i n gm a r k e t t ow n a n d t r a d i n g c e n t r e of g r e a ti m p o r t a n c e . L o n g b e f o re t h e I n d u s t r ia lR e v ol u ti o n, i n d u s t r y w a s f i r m l y e s t a b l i s h e din t h e M a n c h e s t e r a r e a a n d w it h i t s a r r i v a lM a n c h e s t e r b e c a m e t h e c e n t r e of a p a t t e r n ofi n d u s t r i a l s e t t l e m e n t s l o c a t e d o n t h e f o o t h i l lso f the Pe nn ine s .3 . Without a r e v o l u t io n i n t r a n s p o r t a t i o nm e t h o d s a n d l i n e s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n h o w e v e rt h e p h e n o m e n a l e c o n o m i c a n d p o p u l a ti o ng r o w t h w h i ch t o o k p l a c e i n t h e 1 9t h C e n t u r ya n d w h i ch w e k no w a s t h e I n d u s t r i a lR e v o l ut i on , w o u ld h a v e be e n i m p o s s i b l e .M a n c h e s t e r p i o n e er e d w a t e r t r a n s p o r t i n th ef o r m of t h e a r t i f i c i a l c a n a l a n d b e c a m e o neof t h e t e r m i n i of t h e f i r s t r e g u l a r r a i lp a s s e n g er s e r v i c e . T h e f i r s t t r a n s p o r tr o u t e s in th e i n d u s t r i a l e r a w e r e t h e c a n a l s ,a l th o u g h t h e C i t y g r e w a l o n g t h e l i n e s ofc o m m u n i c a t i o n a l r e a d y e x i s t i n g , D e a n s ga t ea n d M a r ke t S t r e e t ; a t t h e s a m e t i m e a ni n t e n s i v e n e t w o r k of r a i l w a y w a s d e v e l o p e dt h r ou g h o u t s o u t h - e a s t L a n c a s h i r e , f o ll o w in ga l a r g e l y r a d i a l p a t t e r n w i th M a n c h e s t e r a tt h e c e n t r e . T h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f o r m of t h et o ta l t r a n s p o r t n e tw o r k, r a il w a y s a s w el l a s


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rowth of city region

6

roa ds, may only be app rec iat ed withrefere nce to the sur rounding se t t lements andparti cular ly the a r c of cotton towns t o thenorth, but what s c le ar i s tha t access ib i l ity ,central i ty and convenience, then a s now wereof s up re me importa nce to the life and growthof the ce nt re . The resul t was not a plannedcity but a concentra tion of i nterl inkedactivi t ies in the cen tre Railheads andmarshall ing yar ds were brought through theindustrial co lla r into the hea rt of the City andthe pat ter n which the City Cen tr e has today,w as s e t . With the optimism and drive socharacteristic of Victorian England, the ShipCanal was completed towards the c los e of the19th Century and within a decade the gr ea trep osi tor ies of Whitworth Str eet , where theRegion s export able wealth could convenientlybe sto red pr ior t o dispatch, had been buil t.4 If the est abl ish men t of the railway ter mi nias si st ed the concentration of buildings, goodsand people in a relatively sm al l and compactar ea , then the appearance of the stre ettramwa y in l877 followed by the electrificationof the pas se nge r lin es to Bury in 1915 andAltr incham in 1931, ac celer ated the proc essof population di sp er sa l which with the he lp ofthe p r iva te c ar cont inues today .5 The vas t economic change and physicalexpansion of M anc hes ter in the 19th Centur ywe re accompanied by equally g re at populationch an ge s. By th e middl e of th e 19th Cen tur yManche ster was the ce nt re of a conurbationwith a population of well o ve r a mil lion; thenumber doubled within the next fifty yea rsalthough thi s concealed the outwa rd movementto the suburbs which began in ear nes t duringthe ear ly decades of th is c en tury .6 The administrat ive a re a of the Citydid not reach its population zenith until 1931when the irihabitarlts numbered just over770,000 . After that date, the movementoutwards began increasingly t o affect landbeyond the City and the numbers living withinbegan to fal l . In the City Centre , the fal l innumbers began very much ear l ie r , the f i r s tsigns being recorded in the Market Stree t


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a r e a w h i ch h a d 2 /, 0 0 0 in h a b i t a n t s in 1 8 5lbut on ly 17 , 000 by 1871T h i s t e nd e n c y t o w a r d s t h e d i s p e r s a l ofr e s i d e n t i a l p o p u la t io n h a s c o n ti n u ed t o a f f e c tt h e c e n t r e , a n d t od a y i t h a s v i r tu a l l y n or e s i d e n t i a l p o p u la t io n .Population and ousing7 . In mid 1 9 6 5 th e p o p u la t io n of th e C i tyR e g i o n* ( t h e a p p r o x i m a t e l i m i t s of w h i ch a r es h o w n o n p a g e 8 w a s j u s t o v e r2 . 6 m i l l i o n w h i c h w a s n o t s i g n i f i c a n t l yd i f f e r en t f r o m t h a t in 1 9 31 A g r o w i ng r a t eof n a t u r a l i n c r e a s e f ol lo w i ng t h e w a r w a sb a l a n c e d by s u b s t a n t i a l o u t w a r d m i g r a t i o nr e s u l t i n g i n a s t a t i c o v e r a l l s i t u a t i o n .T o w a r d s t h e e n d of t h e f i f ti e s h o w e v e r , a n dp a r t i c u l a r l y s i n c e 1 96 1 d u e t o a m a r k e dr e d u c t i o n i n o u t w a r d m i g r a t i o n a n d a h i g h e rb i r t h r a t e , t h e p o p u la t io n h a s b e g u n t oi n c r e a s e . T h e e s t i m a t e d p o pu l at io n f o r 1 9 81i n t h e C i t y R e g i o n b a s e d o n n a t u r a l i n c r e a s ea n d n i l m i g r a t i o n w o uld b e i n t h e o r d e r of2 . 9 5 m i l l i o n :: : . P l a n ne d l e v e l s of f u t u r em o v e m e n t o ut t o n ew t o w n s , a n d e s t i m a t e s ofv o l u n t a r y m i g r a t i o n , h o w e v e r , b o th s u g g e s tt h a t t h e p o p u l a t i o n i n 1 9 8 1 m a y b e a b o u t2 . 7 m i l l i o n . It w o ul d s e e m , t h e r e f o r e , t h a ta t l e a s t a f u r t h e r 1 0 0, Cl00 p e o p le w i l l n e e d t ob e p r o v i d e d f o r w i th i n t h e C i t y R e g i on a r e a b y1 9 8 1 ; m o r e o v e r , c h a n g e s i n t h e p o p u la t io nd i s t r ib u t i o n w i t h in t h e a r e a w i l l i n t h e m s e l v esb e q u i t e c o n s i d e r a b l e f o l l o w in g c l o s e l y u po nt h e s l u m c l e a r a n c e p r o g r a m m e s b e i ngu n d e r t a k e n by M a n c h e s t e r a n d o t h e ra u t h o r i t i e s w h i ch w i l l r e l i e v e c o n g e s t io n i nt h e in n e r a r e a s .8 . W i t h i n t h e C i t y of M a n c h e s t e r i t s e l f , t h ep o p u la t io n w a s ab o u t 6 6 0 , 0 0 0 in 1 9 6 1 . It h a sa l r e a d y f a l l e n t o a b o u t 6 00 , 0 00 , a s t h e r e s u l tof r e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d r e c e n t s t u d i e s s u g g e s tt h at i t m a y f a l l t o a m o r e s t a b l e l e v e l ofa b o u t 5 5 0 , 0 0 0 in 1 9 8 1 , It is e v i d e n t t h e r e f o r e ,*See Appendix A for definitions of City Regiori and City.* Estimat es based on Registrar G ener al s Statistics; a moredetailed account of population trends will appear in aforthcoming report on the City Region.

t h a t w h i l s t t h e C i t y s p o p u l a t i o n w i l l c o n t i n u et o f a l l f o r a t i m e , t h e t o t a l p o p u la t io n of t h eC i t y R e g io n w i l l m o v e i n a n u p w a rd d i r e c t i o n .T h e p a t t e r n of r e s i d e n c e in r e l a t i o n t o t h eC e n t r a l A r e a is b e co m i ng m o r e d i s p e r s e dt h a n h i t h e r to , s o t h a t t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n dp e r s o n a l m o b i li ty a r e t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n tf a c t o r s i n a s s e s s i n g t h e r e l a ti o n s h i p b e tw e e nt h e c e n t r e a n d i t s r e s i d e n t i a l c a tc h m e n t a r e a .9 . P o p ul at io n c h a n g e i s r e f l e c t e d i n h o u s i n gn e e d s , o n e of t h e C i ty R e g i o n s g r e a t e s tp r o b l e m s . N a t u r a l i n c r e a s e i n h o u se h o ld s ish o w e v e r o n ly o n e e l e m e n t of h o u s i n g n e e d , b yf a r t h e b i g g e s t f a c t o r b e i n g t h e r e p l a c e m e n t oft h e R e g i o n s 2 0 0 , 0 00 o r s o s u b s t a n d a r dd w e l l i n g s . T h e C it y f a c e s e a s i l y t h e b i g ge s tp r o b l e m i n t h i s r e s p e c t a n d a t t h e e n d of 1 96 6s t i l l h a d approximately 4 6, 0 0 0 s l u m s .A p a r t f r o m a f e w s c a t t e r e d p o ck e t s, t h e l a r g ep r o p o r t i o n of t h i s p r o p e r t y s u r r o u n d s t h e C i tyC e n t r e , a s sh o w n o n M a p N o . 1 a l t h o u g hs i g n s of c h a n g e a r e a l r e a d y v e r y e v i d e n t .W h i l s t t o t a l p o p u l at i o n c h a n g e s i n t h e C i t yR e gi on h a v e a m o r e d i r e c t b e a r i n g o n t h ef u t u r e of t h e c e n t r e , th e p o p u la t io n l e v e l s oft h e a r e a s i m m e d i at e ly a d j a ce n t t o t h e c e n t r ew i l l s h o w a d e c l i n e as r e d e v e l o p m e n tp r o g r e s s e s . A t t h e s a m e t l m e th e q u al it y ofl o c a l s e r v i c e s w i l l i m p r o v e w h il s t d i s t r i c tc e n t r e s w h ic h will c a t e r f o r l o c a l s h o pp i ngn e e d s a n d p r o v i d e l i m i t e d o f f ic ea c c o m m o d a t i o n , a r e t o b e l o ca t ed i n s o m e oft h e se a r e a s . T h i s emphasises t h ei m . p o r t a n c e of i m p r o v i n g a c c e s s i b i l i t y t o t h eC i t y C e n t r e w h e r e t h e s p e c i a l i s e d s h op p i n ga n d o t h e r s e r v i c e s a r e e s s e n t ia l l y g e a r e d tot h e l a r g e r s c a l e R e gi on al r e q u i r e m e n t s ,r a t h e r t h a n t o th e r e s i d e n t ia l a r e a s t h at l i e i nc l o s e p r o x im i t y t o i t .

1 0 . E m p l o y m e n t t r e n d s a r e a n i m p or ta n tr e m i n d e r of t h e i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e of t h e c e n t r ea n d i t s h i n t e r l a n d . B e tw e e n 1 95 9 a n d 19 65t h e e n ~ p l o y n l e n t i c t u r e f o r t h e C i t y R e g io nf l u c t u at e d c o n t i n u o u sl y ; o v e r a l l c h a n g e f o r t h ep e r i o d w a s h o w e v e r , n e g li @ b l e , a l th o u g h t h i sw a s n ot t h e s i t u at i on w i th in s m a l l e r a r e a s o r


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i t y egion existing and proposed roads


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even within tlie boundaries of ManchesterCounty Borough.11. Two ma jor fac to rs have influencedemployment in recent ye ar s. First ly, thepolicy of the Board of Tr ad e, which ha splaced the e mph asis on locating newdevelopment in the manufacturing industriesin dis tr ic ts of high unemployment and has thustended to discourage industrial expansion inManche ster and it s environs ; and secondly theupheaval in the textile industry where over40,000 jobs we re lost between 1959 and 1965.Despite this, the unemployment figures in boththe City Region and the City have beenconsis tently below the national ave rage , whilstactivity r at es have remained high, thusindicating a ce rta in resi lience in the economyof the a r e a .12 . In 1965 th er e wer e 385, 000 jobs within theboundaries of the City itself whichreprese nted an overall decline in employmentof 17,000 sinc e 1959. The most mark eddecline in employment was the loss of 11,000jobs in the distr ibu tive tra de s, half of whicha r e at present located in the Central Area,and this could be attributab le to decline intextile warehouses, improved mechanicalhandling techniques and dece ntralis ation toavoidco ngestion . Today in fact, les s than3 of the working population of M anches tera r e e m ~ l o y e dn the textile indust ry. However,th ere h as been considerable growth in otherserv ice industr ies during the ~ e r i o d ; 0, 000 inprofessional ser vic es alone, an incr ease of28 which ha s been spaced widely throughoutthe City; 2 100 in miscellaneous serv ices , anin cr ea se of 6 , with othe r significantinc rea se s in insuranc e, banking and financeand public adminis tration. Whilst al l thesefigu res a r e fo r the Couilty Borough,preliminaryana lysi s suggests that the City Centre hassh are d in this growth, particul arly ofmiscellaneous se rvi ce s and publicadminis t ra t ion ,

13. The Ce ntra l Area a s might be expected,provides the la rge st concentration of

employment in the City Region with about160,00 0 jobs, in 1965, o r about 12T7of theto tal and about one thi rd of the jobs in the CityThe wider area within a two mile radius of theTown Hall- which includes the docks and partof the Trafford Park Industrial Estate,provides about one qua rter or m ore than280 ,000 jobs of the City Region 'semployment,14. Th ere see ms little doubt that the CentralArea of Man chester like most metropolitancen tres appe ars to be undergoing a qualitativechange with a concentration of higher orderfunctions, whilst at the sa me time maintainingstability in quantitative t er m s . The tren ds s ofa r evident sugges t that if ratiorialisation inthe distributive tra des s complete, thenemployment in the C ent ral Area should show asteady , though sm al l in cr ea se up to 1981,although more significant growth could occu r,dependent on national policy on the location ofoffice employment.15. The exp erie nce of London, Par is andother cities suggests that the second or thirdCity, plac es like Ma nche ste r and Lyons, will tosom e extent provide an overflow for thegrowing number of adm inis trat ive,management and office jobs. This processcan be s een in Manch ester i n a limited waywith the expansion in banking and governmentoffices, the National Computing Cen tre, theRegional He adquarte rs fo r the B.B.C . thenew Business School and indee'd the expansionin higher education, res ea rch and laboratoryfaci l i t ies. If these tre nds point t o the futurecha rac ter of the centre, then again the mostimportant single factor a s it ha s been in thepast, s undoubtedly the need for improvedaccessibi l i ty.ommunications

16 . At the beginning of the Century theManchester are a was only some five m iles indi ame te r but in a generation, the built -up c o reribboned twelve mile s along the radial tr amroutes . Although in the last twenty fiveye ars or so the total population h as remained


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virtually the sam e, the route-fre e motorvehicle, at fi rs t the bus and now the privateca r, has helped to fill in the green wedges,extending the potential rad iu s of the City tobetween ten and fifteen miles and its potentialar ea of residence to over 700 square mil es .17. The disper siv e effects of the moto rvehicle on population are in marked contrastto the concentration of cert ain major functionsto be seen in the City Centre itself, and thedelicate balance between the se tendenciesdepends above al l on freedom of movement tothe cen tre . Eff icient t ransport , appropriateto differing functio ns, i s probably the onlyeffective way in which the social advantages ofresiden tial dis pers al and the econonlic andothe r advantage s of c oncentra ting acti viti es ofa metropolitan character, dependent on alarg e catchment ar ea , may be reconciled.18. The commuter services by road or ra i lthe physical exp ress ion s of interdependencea r e essential to the City Centre, which grewand prospere d a s a direct resu lt of thedevelopment of ma s s transpo rtation facil itie s.Large scale re sidentia l expansion, particularlyon the south side of Ma ncheste r, init iat ed bythe railways and later consolidated by themoto rcar , has been boosted succe ssively bythe introduction of impro ved di esel and la te relectr ic , t rain ser vic es. The modernisat ionof Trails-Pennine ra il faciliti es rout es whichc ar ry the heaviest amount of freight traffic,has added a further dimension to regionalcommuni cations and mo re re cently but of equalimportan ce to the City has been theelec trif icat ion of the main railway line toLondon; the p ossibil ity of it s e xtensio n toScotland is now being studied. The popularityand succ es s of the se recen tly introduced rapidinter-city rai l s erv ic es point t o the increas ingrole of the centr e a s a majo r regionaltransport interchange; at the s ame t ime, theCity s municipal airport at Ringway whichse rv es a population of around 15 million, hasbecome a major irlternational air port and therehas been a rapid incre ase in a i r freight andpassengers .

19 . Th e development of the nationa l motorwaysystem i s a lso beginning to make itself felt andcominunications between the regions haveal rea dy been improve d by the con stru ctio n ofthe M. 6; by the ea rly 1970 s the City will bedire ctly linked with the M. 6 along the line ofPrin ces s Road and Princes s Parkway, whilst theMancl~ester /PrestonMotorway (M.61) shouldbe comple ted by 1970, toge the r with the M 62Tra n s -Pennine Motorway, now underconstruction. All these proposals will al sohave a n important impact on the pattern an dextent of inter-cit y and int er -regiona lmovement, and will make the s er vi ce s of ametropolitan ce ntr e available to an even larg erpopulation.he future rol of the entral rea

20. Th e di sp er sa l of population is in largemeas ure a respons e to social and technologicalchange; personal mobility and higher standa rdsof living ar e tending to en larg e the sph ere ofinfluence of the cen tr e and the o ver allpopulation it serves will correspondinglyinc rease . It may be expected that any futurereor gan isa tion of lo cal government will be inthe dire ctio n of the establ ish ment of effectiveplanning units and, together with theformulation of economic policies for there@on, thes e will be additional fac tor s indetermin ing the balance between concen trat ionand d ispersa l .2 1 . There ar e c lea r economic advantages toaccount fo r the continued growth andadaptability of the various city andmetropolitan regions; the Manchester ce ntre isno exception, but if the cent re, providing a s itdoes for a growing range of specia list s er vic esin close proximity to a la rge mark et ofcon su me rs, ta ke s advantage of econ omi es ofscale , there a re a lso d isadvantages ar i s ingfro m various f or ms of congestion, delay andcost of transporting raw ma ter ia ls. At thesam e t ime i ts grea t strength and resi l ienceencourages and att rac ts growth and aneillployed populaticn of hun dre ds of thousandscreates i t s own market for s erv i ces .


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2 2 It must be accepted, that ther e i s a degreeof competit ion between the Cen tr al Area of theCity and o ther towns in the Region,.particul arly i n te rm s of shopping and otherspeciali sed se rv ic es . The future role of thece ntr e will res t t o some extent on theaccept ance throughout the Region, of ahier arch y of ce nt re s of attr act ion and in thisre sp ec t the independent trad itio n of s om e ofthe olde r su rrou ndin g towns and the growth ofthe new such a s Wilmslow, should not beoverlooked. In the general sense however,the future of the Regional cen tre app ear sassured; i t s an ess enti al part of the Europeancul tura l traditio n of living in ci tie s where thecomm erci al, economic and political functionsa r e inextri cably bound up with the educational,art ist ic and soc ial life of the community. Aconcentrated, lively and civilised hea rt to theCity and the Region is therefore seen a s abasic policy objective.


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7

i f :rar*


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2 City entre Uses 1 . Th e Ci ty Cent re s about 1 5 squa re mi l e sin extent bounded gene rall y by the valleys ofthe Irw ell and the Medlock with the main linerai lway sta t ions Piccadilly Exchange/Victoriaand Cent ra l forming a t r ia ngle within whichmost Regional act ivi t ies a r e located.

2 Grea t Ancoa ts S tree t mar ks the broad l imi t sof Centra l Area us es on the north east ern sideMancunian Way i s now the effective so uth ernboundary and apa rt fr om John Dalton Collegeand the buildings of th e Insti tute of S cien ce andTechnology i t separa te s the cent ra l commerc ia lar ea fr om the main part of the Higher EducationPrecinct and the resident ia l a r e a s of Brunswickand Hulme.3 Although the River Irwell is the na tura lboilndary on the west ern side and fo rm s theadministrative boundary between the twoauthor i t ie s the Manches te r Cent ra l Are a andthe adjo in ing a re as of Sa lford a r e in p rac t iceclosely int er- re l a te d. Exchange Station andVictoria Bus Station both dir ect ly oppositeManches ter Ca thedra l a r e s i tua ted i n Salfordwhilst r ecen t office development o ccu rs on bothside s of the boundary. Fr om a communicat ions

5 3and formi t y centre from t h e w st


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point of v iew. in p a r t ~ c ~ ~ l a r ,t is e s s e ~ ~ t i a lhatthere should be a O orcllnated ap pro ach, and thepr im ar y hig,hwa) network pr opo sals put fo rw ardIn this report havc been worhcd out ~olntly ithtile Clty I71ig11lecrancl Pla~~ningfflccr of Salfo L c1Silni larlu, a re as which i t is evident s l io~~ldeplaiinecl c om pr eh en s~ ve lv xtend on both s ld es ofthe bouncialy, an exanlple being the ar easurrounding Manchester Cathedral , and in theseca se s the proposals concerned have been thesubject of joint consultation and acceptance byA~lancliester nd Salford fo int Planning Co ln n~t tee .4 Th e Ci ty Cent re rep resen ts by fa r the la rg es tconc entr atio n of eiliployillent, containin g tho secornmercia l , ser vic e and governmental act ivi t ies ,without which it would be difficult to identify theCity Region a s a cor po rat e whole. Some of i tsmain fea tures and char ac te r i s t ic s indica te thatit is a regional cen tr e of w holesale and reta ilt rad e , se rv ing a mark e t ing a re a second onIy toLondorl and distinghshed by a great variety ofdepartment and chain s tores , fashion,furnis hing and speciality shop s. It is a cent reof regi onal and local governm ent, a principalbanking cent re , the maj or provincia l cen tr e ofthe newsp aper publishing- industry and a ma jo rce nt re of television, radio and telephoniccommunicat ion. It i s al so a hub of mc~ sic al ndart is t ic l i f e , o ffering a growing- varie ty of socia land entertainment facili t ies and a centre ofUniversi ty and Higher Ed ucat i o~l- hedevelopm ent of which i s inext rica bly bound upwith the l i fe of the cent re . Final ly i t i s l inkedto one of the count ry s mo st important portsand is the cen tr e of a complex national, regionaland local network of road, ra i l and a i rcommunicat ions. T h e growth of a i r t ra vel , andla t te r ly the grea t inc reas e in a i r f re ight t ra f f ic ,underlin e the imp orta nce and fu ture potential ofManchester Airpo rt to the prosper i ty of th e Cityand the Region.5 Th e City Cent re proposa ls coverapproximate ly 1 , 100 ac r es , containing all thea r ea s a l loca ted fo r Cent ra l Ar ea purposes in theDevelopment Plan a s wel l a s ar ea s a l located forind ust ria l use s within the lin e of Mancunian Wayand th e line of t he proposed lnne r Ring Road ;th is a r ea of study i s shown on Map 2 and isdefined in Appendix A.6 . In ge nera l t e r ms , t he t r e ~ id s f fe ct ing t heCent ra l Area a r e common to many of the larg erc i t i e s which wer e o r ig n~ a l l y ndus t r ia l , namelytlie growth of office and aclmillistrative f~ mc ti on saccompanied bv an inc rease in se rv iceemployme nt, th e concentration of retai l tr ad eoutlets and the r ep l ac ~ ng f wareho using anclothe r declining activities b y Inore ii l tensive andprof itab le u ses .

i Thc ma jo r p rob le ms OS t h e c e n tr e a r efam ili ar; growiilg congestion, t lie co~l flic t

l~etween cdestrlan and vehicular- traffic,~ n a d e q ~ r a t eacl l i t ics f or efflc lent servicing anda st reet system unsul ted to modern t ransportrcqulrerl le l i ts ,S Th e Citv Cent i-e has r eache d a cr i t ica lstage in its developmeilt with a high proportionof ob sole te buildings, whic11 pr es en ts th eoppor tunity to renew and r ec re a t e a mo reefficient and convenient ce nt re worthy of th eregion it se r ve s . Th e object i s to ha rn ess thefo rce s of change so a s to rec onci le i inprovedaccessibi l i ty with higher environmentalsta nda rds and to obtain maxiinurn advantagef rom l imi t ed re so urc e s .9 . T h e r e a r e a r e a s i n m o st m a j o r c i t ie swhich may be rea dily identified a s devoted toparticular activities ancl uses ; thi s pa tter n ofac tiv ity i s ve ry marked in Manches te r wher ethe pr incipa l groupings a r e :

( i ) re ta i l shopping ;(ii) offices, banking- and in sc ~r an ce(iii) civic functions ;( iv) warehousing ;(v) enterta inment10. h4ost of the se use s occu r in traditionallocations within t he c or e of the City Cent re a sdefined in Appendix A and the distribution ofuse s i s r e fe r re d t o in Ta b les 1 and 3 1Appendix C. Shopping i s concentrated onMarket Street , Oldham Str eet , Deansgate andthe St . Ann s Square and Lowe r King Streetar ea . Upper Icing Street is the t radi t ionalbailking area around which insurance and officeuses have become es tabl i shed ; t he ma jo r g roupof c ivic bui ldings l ies to the south of this ar eaand has a t t r acted o ther office funct ions.En te r ta inme nt use s a r e l a rge ly c onc e n t ra ~ e d nOxford Stree t and Peter S tree t whils twarehousing occupies mos t of the a re a south-eas t of Mosley S t ree t a s fa r a s the RlverMedlock and is den sely concen trated alongWhitworth Stree t .11. h1 the following sectiorls the e xist ing andproposed uses contained in tl ie City Centre a r eexamined in mor e deta i l .i ) Shopping12. Th e City Cent re se rv es an extens ivehinterland ancl a population far in excess of the600, 000 people who live within t he Cit y. It isest imated that i t perf orms a regional funct ionfo r about 3. 5 million peoplc and this could welli nc re a se t o 4 inillion by 1981 ; f rom f igu re sgiven iri t h e 1 9 6 1 Census of Distribution itattraciecl about 14 )of the City Region s t r ad e.13. The regional char ac te r i s t i c s of the cent rea r e sliowl~ ,y the high proporti on of the c o r e


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Market Street looking towards iccadilly

SHOPPING

devoted to depar tment ancl varlet\[ st or es , withclurable goods accoc~nting o r al>prox iniately 77of the total turn ove r. Th e Study Area contalnsal~ocrt million s qu ar e fee t of shopplngaccoinmodation with about 5 m i l l ~ o n q u a refeet contained within the co r e. Department ,vari ety and chain s t or es account lo r about 40xof the total shopping are a in thc co re , o r abouta third of all the sliop7ing in the Ce ntra I Ar ea ,a s show^: in table 7 of Appendix C .14. Th e main shopping ar e a is centred onMarket S tre et, with a continuous fron tage offashion and shoe shops, dominated by ma jo rdepar tment and var ie ty s t or es a t each end .T h e s t r e e t s the heart and c ent re of thepop~11areta il fashion tr ad e ancl is in effect acor rid or, o r connecting l ink, in a shoppingpat tern which is Z shape 011 plan and about1 ,000 yards in length.lli. I t i s not a ver y compact shopping cen tre andhas tended to be polarised; the qual ity shoppiilgha s conc entr ated in t~he icill i ty of King Str eet , St.Ann s Squ are and the Kendal Milne Departme ntStore , whils t the popular shopping ha s centredaround Lewis s and Paulden s s to re s a t theea ste rn end of Market Str eet and along OldhamStre et whe re a n umb er of s t or es , including-C. andA. Modes and Affleck and Brown a r e to be found ;Piccadi lly Gard ens ha s discour aged the expansionof shopping fur the r ea stw ard s towards Piccadi llyStation.16. Th e removal of Marks and Spenc ers to a newbuilding in the Market Place are a, ( the s i t e ofthe medie val ma rk et place and incidentally ofthe f i rs t penny bazaar ) which fo rm s a pivot be-tween Mar ket Stre et i tsel f and the St . Arm s S quarear ea , has t ended to c lose up the gap lef t by wa rdamag e and the redevelopmen t pote~l t ial f theMarket S t ree t and Market P lace ar ea s for shopp-ing s l ike ly to contribute to a mo re coinpact andcontinuous pat tern in the futu re .17. A subs ldi ar) ~ luste r of shopping is to befound in the enterta inmen ts ar e a on Oxford Stre et ,which cxtcnds fro m S t . Pet er s Squa re to CxfordRoad S ta t ion . Motor ca r showrooms a r e locatedjust beyond th e main shopping a r e a in Pet e rStr ee t arid between Kendal Milnes and the rail wayviaducts at the southern end of Deansgate. Th echaracter i s t i c pat tern of re ta i l and serv ice shopping ref l ec t s the way in which the cen t re has grown.1 s . A shopping study was unc1ertal;en in 1962 withthe pri mar y object ive of es tabl ishing the locat ion,ch ar ac te r and extent of shopping exlstmg at thatt ime, broadly within the ar ea defined a s the co rein Appendix A a t t hat t im e m any m ajo r s chem esto provide arnbi t ioc~s hopping developments w e r ebeing put forward by deve lope rs . Although th er eis an l~ndoubtecl elnand f o r s om e additional andwell located shopping sp ac e, if all the inajorsc he me s which have been put I orward tentative ly


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over the past s ix or seven year s had been bui l t,the pre sen t total shopping a r e a i11 the c o re wouldhave been increa sed out of al l proport ion. Somedevelopers op t imis t ica lly t end to as se ss th epotential of the ir s ch em es against exis t ingcondi tions on the basi s that they wil l be ' f i rs toff t he go -an d ' . S chem es ca r r i ed out 011 sucha bas i s would b e n ~u tua l ly e l f-defeating andpermissions given could be vir tual ly l icencesfo r f a i l u re .1 9 . Incre ased shopping faci l i t ies in one locat ionma y be a t the expense of fac i l i t i es e l sewhere andth i s would c lear ly have ser ious af fec t s, resu l t ingin derelicti on and fragment ation of the shoppingc e n t r e .20; Although i t i s almo st impossible to predictwith any degree of cer ta in ty or accuracy ,pre ci se ly how mu ch shopping; th e City Cen trewil l eventual ly support , the view has been takenthat new ma jo r shopping development should belocated to consol idate the shopping ar ea andphased to keep ill st ep with evident demand . :l:*Th e fact that ll luch of the shopping ce ntr e i sobsolete and substandard su ggests that whateverthe ul t imate posi t ion, conside rableredevelopment and rep lacement i s essen t ia l tomaintain and impro ve i ts posi t ion a s a c ent re ofat t ract ion. Th e pat tern of the shopping cen trenee ds resha ping and advantage taken of theoppartui li ty to provide good c ar parkin g faci l i t ie sfor the motor i s t shopper , mo re convenien t.ac ce ss to public t r an spo rt , and safe and invi t ingcondi t ions for the pedestr ian.21, T h e redeve lopment in depth of the mainlyobsole te ar ea to the nor th of Market S t ree t ,together wi th a sc hem e fo r which out l ineplanning consent ha s been gra nte d in the MarketPlace area, would, if implemented ov er thenext decade, in cr ea se the to ta l shopping f loorspace i n t he s tudy a re a by 700 ,000 square f ee to r 10 on the assumpt ion that ther e wa s noreduct ion in the a r e a of shopping elsewh ere int h e c e n t r e .22. In thes e ci r cums tanc es, and certain ly unti lthe point of balance can be worked out mo r eaccura te ly in a regiona l context, i t would appearunwise to permit o r provide fo r extensiveshopping development in othe r par ts of the Ci tyC en t re , which would b e liab le to dilute anddisr upt the shopping pat tern to t he disadvantageof both the new and the o ld . Th e f i rs t p r ior i tymust be to improve the access ib i l i ty and qual ity

Shopping floor space statistics for the City Regionarea are not yet avail able. Ever] if the existing andproposed floor space was availab le for al l the centra lareas of the County Boroughs, there would still bemany other variables to tak e into account. It will benecessary to carry out more sophisticated studies intoshoppin on a broader basis although it is hoped toderiv e Rrth er useful information on the journey toshop and household expenditure patterns when theS . E L. N . E C . transportation study mate ria l bcconiesavailable.

of the pre sen t cen tre , taking advant age of i t sredevelopment potential . If ren ewa l, not onlyof the shopping a r e a , but of ot he r pa rt s of theCent ral Ar ea s t rengthens the posi tion of thereg ional cen t re and s t imula te s de n~ and eyondthis cap aci ty, then considerat ion can be givento the develo pment of oth er poten tial shoppinga r e a s .2 3 . Thi s pol icy, which of c ou rse re fe rs toma jor shopping development and not to s ma ll ergro ups of su bsid iar y and convenience shopping,is not new and has been in operatioil for anumber of yea rs . Th e f i r s t Comprehens iveDevelopilleilt A re a p ropo sals which have beensubm itte d to the Mi nist er of Housing and LocalGovernment a r e cen t red on the Market S t ree tar ea , and underl ine the prim ar y object ive ofredeveloping the regional shopping ce ntr e in i tsexis ting t radi t ional locat ion. The y have beenput fo rwa rd a gainst th e background of acons is ten t pol icy of re s i s t ing lar ge sc aleshopping developments on unrelated o r fr in gesi t es which would have mil i tated against t heconsolidation and improve ment of the Ci ty 'smain shopping cen t re .24. T o be compet i tive , ther e i s no doubt tha tMan che ster ' s shopping- ce ntr e wil l r eq uir e tobe not only convenient and efficient , but als ooutstandingly invi ting and at t r act ive . Detai lsof the proposa ls fo r the development of theMarke t S t r ee t a r ea a r e r e f e r r ed t o on P age 56of this Repor t.i i ) Off ices25. Offices and banks now account fo r about aqua r ter of the to ta l g ro ss f loor sp ace in thes tu dy a r e a t h e r e is an equal amoun t ofwarehouse space bu t t he s im i l a r i t i e s end t he re .A qua rte r of the 14 mill ion sq ua re feet of officesp ac e ha s been bui lt s i nce 1948 ; over 60 ,000people o r 42 1 th e working populationin the cen t re , a r e of fice employees . Incont ras t , ther e has been a s tea dy decl ine inwarehousing funct ions and employme nt and le ssthan 19 , 000 persons a r e employed in th i ss e c t o r .26. Th e ar ea immediately south of Marke t Streetand bounded by Cr os s Stree t , Prin ces s Street andMosley Street , contains most of the maj or banks,the Stock Exchange, the Gene ral Post Office,insurance companies and associated professionaloffices th i s i s the commer cia l hea r t of the Ci tywhe re the pres t ige bui ldings a re to be found, sucha s he MidlandBank and Ship Canal House on KingSt reet . Th e t rad it ion is being continued andbuildings re cen tly completed include the newBarcla ys and William s Deacons Banks, and anew Headqua rters f or the Dist r ict Bank is beingconstructed on King Street,2 7. Some of the ea rl y post-war officedevelopment was car r ie d out on s i t es acqui red by


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qlng Street- t he cornrnercl l t~eart

OFFICES

the City following wa r damage, and the gre atmajosi-ty of the sch em es wil-icil liave bee n,or a s e11einq hui lt, are for. owner occupation o r f or adefiXite client. Where offices have been builtto le t , a s a commercia l venture , there has sofar,in gen eral been little r ea l djfficulty in lettingthe m. The est ab lis hm en t of reg iona l offices ofvarious miii is tr ies , and the sleed to replacesubstanda rd accornm odation ,l~as ndoubtedlycorltributed towards a steady dernand fo r sp ac e.2 8 Th e office development in the Ce ntra l Are ais highly concentrared the re a r e over 8million squa re feet in the cor e a re a alone whichcontains all the banks, mos t of the insura nccoffices and virtually all the professional offices.(s ee ta ble of Appendix C). Two imp orta ntexceptions however, a r e th e fine developments ofthe Co-operative Wholesale Society Headquartersand th e Co-o perative Insu ranc e Society Building,which a r e situated at the junction of Corp orationStreet and MiIler Stre et , outs ide the comme rcialheart,and furt her developnlent is likely to takeplace in this area.2 9 Th er e is no doubt that th ere will be a con-tinuing need fo r new office accommoda tion, ifonly to rep lace th e lea st sa tisf act ory element ofthe 10 million s qua re feet of pre- war off ices ,which cannot be ma de ec onomic ally cap abie ofmeeting the minimum s tand ards called fo r by theOff ices , Shops and Railway I rei nise s A ct of 1963Th ere is a cons iderabie volume of office spacein for me r warehouse buildings, part icular ly inthe Whitworth Stree t ar ea , whe re s ome of thebuildings a r e very substantial s tructurally andthis e mphasise s the decline in warehousefunctions and the re luct ance to pay higher rent alvalues fo r new accom modati on. With oneexception, th ere ha s been lit tle evidence of officespac e in new buildings rema inin g empty for anylength of time , although th er e has been a ste adygrowth in th e amount of old pro pert y becomin gvacant. (See table 9 off Appendix C) . Bankingand insurance functions a r e growing and so als o isthe demand for m or e spa ce by Central and LocalGovernment.30 One of the d iffi cul ties which undoubtedlyslows down the pr oc es s of redeve Iopme nt, is thatalthougl-1 many office pr em is es a r e substanda rd,fir ins a r e not attuned to the pro spec t of payingeconomic rent al s fo r new accoinmodation, evenalthough the corresponding figur es in Centra lLondon might be thr ee t im es a s grea t .

31. Th e ra-te of growth of com nle rcia l activit ywill depend on wider economic factors and onthe effect of riatiorial policies a imed at re st ri ct in goffice growth in the Midlands and the South Ea st .L the trends of the la s t ten yea rs a r e projected,rnost office building is likely to be r epla cem ent,and [he allocation in the City Centre Map willbe mo re than sufficient to tak e account of th isand any additional net growth.


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The Town Hall --centreof civ ic functions

iii) Civic Functions3 2 Th e Cent ra l Are a provides the locat ion forboth the ceremonial and admi nistra t ive functionsof the City Counci l . Th es e a r e a t present mainlyacco mmod ated in the Old Town Hall and the TownHall Extension. Th es e buildings fo rm thenucleus of the Civic A r ea allocated in th enevetopment Plan fo r gene ral c ivic cul tural oro the r spe ci a l u se s . Within this area, whichextends westward s as fa r a s t he R ive r I rwe llbetween Bridge Street and Quay Street,aresi tuated the Pol ice Headquarters , the Courtsof Jus tic e, the Ci ty s Education Offices nowlocated in Crown Square, and a number of otherbui ldings completed in recent years .33 A rep ort by t he City Archi tect and the CityPlanning Officer on municipal accommodation(Appendix F , Report No. 18 recent ly analysedthe growth in Local Government serv ice s andemployment . At the present t im e about a thirdof th e municipal offices a r e located outside thecivic group and i t wa s est imated that if the r a t eof expansion of se rv ic es during the past fifteenye ar s we re to be projec ted , an addi tiona l 800,000squ are feet of spa ce would be l ikely to berequ ired over th e next ten to f i fteen yea rs , toal levia te overcrowding, to cat er for addi t ionalstaff apd those a t p resent accommodated outside ,the Town Hall , and for extensions to the Centra lLlbr a ry and the Police Headquar te r s . It i spropos ed that si te s that can readi ly be linked tothe Town Hall should be acquired fo r municipalpurposes to provide fo r present and fu ture needsPlans have been approved fo r a new Majgstra t esCour t, to be built adjoiuing the Cou rts of Justicem Crown Square and there s also a proposal toe r e c t a new County Court and exten sions to theexist ing Courts of Just ice .

iv ) Warehousing and Industry34 Th e significant fact revealed in the 1966Land U se Survey ,is the extent of warehousingsp ace distributed evenly throughout the studyar ea , while industry is concentra ted in thefr inge a re as . (As shown in Table 1 ofAppendix C). Th e City Centre was t radi t ional ly

5G : .g; L


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the location for textile warehousing anddistribution ; many of th es e uses a r e nowhoused in obsolet e buildings or in a re a s madeobsolete by inadequate servicing facil i t ie s.The canals and r i ve rs a t an ear l ie r da teprovided ac ces s and water reso urce s forwarehousing and industry respect ively anumber of indu stri es st ill remai n in theMedlock Valley on the s outhern si de of theCe ntr al Are a, so me of which have not changedfo r a hundred ye ar s. Many of the old erindustr ia l u ses a r e declin ing , especia l ly thoseconnected with cotton and textiles general lyand even if Board of Tr a d e policy on locationof industry w er e to change, Central Arealocations would not b e suitable for theestablishment of ma jo r new industr ies , At thepresent time, establishments dependent on ahigh level of se rvi ce accessibil i ty a r e tending tomove outs ide the cen t ra l core to s i te s be t terrelated to the primar y road s ystem and from aplanning point of view it i s desi ra ble that th istrend should be encouraged to fr ee the centralstr eet system f rom a s much heavy goodst raf fic a s possib le .3 5 Th ese various trends may be seen now,withmany s to res tak ing deliver ies to the i r p remise sdire ct f rom the factory, whilst Lewis S andKendal s have the ir warehouses well outsidethe Cen tral Ar ea . Th e Manchester Guardianand Evening News a r e als o planning to movefrom their congested si t e in Cro ss Street . TheAbattoir , for me rly located in the Water Stre etar ea , has alre ady moved out to a moderncomple x of buildings a t P hilip s Park andwithin afew ye ar s the Smithfield Wholesale Fr ui t andVegetable Market will cl ose af ter a new m arke t ,to be built at Gorton, is completed.36, Th e locational cr i te r ia for industr ial andstor age u se s include good a cce ss to t he nationalmotorway sy ste m by means of the prima ry roadnetwork, abs enc e of congestion and theavailability of land lending itself to economicdevelopment that will enable modern handlingtechniques td he used. Th e linkage to the Cen tralArea i s now essential l y on the distr ibutive sideand now that the lin er tr ai n concept of railwayfrei ght se rv ic es i s being developed, good roadacc ess to the f re igh t te rmina ls and t rans fer

depots r ep laces d ir ec t r a i l acc ess a s a c r i t e r ion .3 7 Th e City Centre Map ass um es thatdecentra lisatio n of warehou sing and industrialus es will continue to take place from the c entr alco re ar e a of the City. Th e remova l ofwarehousing fr om the c ore alone would rel eas e alarg e ar ea of land for comme rcial and otherpurposes. It s envisaged that the are a requiredfor industr ial us e wil l in cre ase by about a f if th,but in the fut ure this will include provision fo rwarehouse and stora ge us es moving out fromsites in the core, with their high values andattendant problem s of access ibility, servici ngdifficulties and congestion,38, Th e indus trial allocation (which will includesto rag e and warehous e functio ns) amounts to28 1 ac re s and is located la rgel y on the south-eas tern and south weste rn si des of the Cent ralAre a. This should be adequate to ensur e thatl ight industr ial o r warehousing concerns whichhave important l inkages t o Central Ar ea functions,can be relocated in close proximity and yetobtain good ac ce ss and servicin g arra nge men ts.v ) ntertainrnent

3 9 Ma nche ste r i s known f or it s high level ofmus ica l and arti st ic activity but unfortunatelythis i s not altogether reflec ted in the extentand cluality of the faci liti es ava ila ble. Apartfrom the reconstruction of the F re e Tr ad e Hallfollowing war damage, the recently openedUniversity T hea tre, and the new RenoldBuilding of the Ins tit ute of Sc ience andTechnology which i s made availab le fo rmusica l and other activit ies, the re has beennomodern o r post-war accommodation built formusic, opera, ballet , sport or recreati on, inthe Cen t ra l Ar ea .Major Entertainm ent in the form of cinema s,thea tres , public halls, clubs and rest aura nts ,the Midland Hotel, Y M C .A . , and the Cen t r a lLibr ary a r e located mainly along Oxford Stre etand Peter S tre et, on the southern side of theCi ty Centre .Apart from the Opera House, situated on QuaySt re et, and the City Hall off D eansgate - whichi s used for exhibitions, the Palace Theat re, the


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Night l i fe on Oxfor d Stree t

L i b r a r y T h e a t r e , t h e F r e e T r a d e Id all , t h eA l b e r t H a l l , as w e l l a s m o s t of t h e C i t y s m a i nc i n e m a s i n c l u d i n g t h e G a u rn o n t a n d t h e O d eo n , Ia r e a l l i n c l o s e p r o x i m i t y . A bo ut 60 o f th e s ef a c i I i t i e s l i e w i t h i n a q u a r t e r of a m i l e of t h ej u nc ti on o f O x f o r d S t r e e t a n d P o r t la n d S t r e e t .T h e C i t y A r t G a l l e r y , t h e P o r t i c o L i b r a r y a n dt h e L i t e r a r y a n d P h i lo s op h ic a l S o ci et y a r e a l lc l o s e a t h a n d .4 0 . T h e C i ty C e n t r e M a p p r o p o s a l s p r o v id ef o r a n a r e a of 35 a c r e s o n e i t h e r s i d e of O x f or d

. - .S t r e e t t o b e r e d e v e lo p e d p r ed o m i n an t ly f o rc u l t u r a l , e n t e r t a i n m e n t a n d l e i s u r e a c t i v i t i e s ,i n c l u d i ng t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a m a j o r r e g i o n a la r t s a n d e n t e r t a i n m e n t c e n t r e w it hi n t h e a r e a + . -1 ? --b o un d ed by C h a r l o t t e S t r e e t , P o r t l a n d S t r e e t , .C h e p s to w S t r e e t , G r e a t B ri d g ew a t e r S t r e e t ,L o w e r M o s l e y S t r e e t a n d M o s l e y S t r e e t .T h e C i t y C o u n c i l , i n M a r c h 1 9 6 5, a u t h o r i s e dt h e p r e p a r a t i o n of C o m p r e h e n s i v eD e v e lo p m e n t A r e a p r o p o s a l s i n r e s p e c t of t h earea p r o p os e d f o r t he A r t s C e n t r e a n d c e r t a i na d j o i n in g l a n d s , a t p r e s e n t o c c u pi e d i n t h em a i n by o ld w a r e h o u s in g a c c o m m o d a t i o n .4 1 . T h e m a i n i m p e t u s w h ic h l e d t o t h ep r o p os a ls f o r a n A r t s C e n t r e c a m e f r o mn e g o t i a ti o n s t h a t t oo k p l a c e a n d a r e c o n t i n u i n gw i th t h e A r t s C o u n c i l , w i t l ~ v i e w t o t h ee s t a b l i s h m e n t of a n e w O p e r a H o u s e w it h ar e s i d e n t c o m p a n y , t h a t w o u ld e n a b l e f i r s tc l a s s o p e r a a n d b al l e t f a c i l i t i e s t o b ee s t a b l i s h e d on a s e m i - p e r m a n e n t b a s i s f o r t h ef i r s t t i m e o u t s i de L o n do n .T h e s u p p o r t of t h e M i n i s t e r o f A r t s f o r t h i sp r o p o s a l h a s b e e n e x p r e s s e d a n d a s u i t a b l es i t e s a v a i l a b le w i th i n t h e a r e a .4 2 . N e g o t ia t io n s a r e a l s o p r o c e e d i n g w i th av i e w t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a n e w l i v e t h e a t r ep r o j e c t w i th in t h e c e n t r e a n d d i s c u s s i o n s h a v eb e e n h el d w it h t h e N a t io n al F i l m T h e a t r e f o rth e in c lu s io n o f a c i n e m a a l s o . In t h em e a n t i m e , t h e N at io n al F i l m T h e a t r e p l a n t oe s t a b li s h t h e m s e l v e s i n t h e a r e a and b u i ld upa n a u d i e n c e b y u t i l is i n g a n e x i s t i n g c i n e m ai n O x f o r d S t r e e t .

ENTERT INMENT4 3 . A n o t h e r i m p or ta .n t e l e m e n t t o be p r o v i d e d \ \ \


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in the proposed Arts Centre is a n extension tothe main City Art Gallery in Mosley Streetand resta urant S, offices, studios and otherfacil ities would al so be included.Compreh ensiv e planning proposal s have beenpr ep ar ed fo r the whole of a wider a reaindicat ing how the se var ious enter tainmentand cultural us es might be related and thesea r e descr ibed la t e r on in th is repor t ; aworking par ty is al so invest igat ing theprovision of a Museu m of Scie nce an dTechnology within this area.4 4 Preliminary proposals have al so been putforwar d for about 2 3 a c re s of land at presentoccupied by Ce nt ra l Railway Station (theclo sur e of which has recently been approved byth e Minis ter of Transpol-t)and theDeansgate Goods Yar d whlch has alrea dyclose d . This a re a i s par t icu lar ly su i tab le fo rthe provision of maj or c a r parking faci l i t iesto ser ve the City Centre a s a whole, but thesi te could al so be exploi ted for r ecrea t ionaland en ter ta inment purposes . It ha s beensuggested that the f ine Tra in Hall, l is ted a s abuilding of ar chi tec tur al o r histor ic int erest ,might be used fo r exhibition purpose s,although no deci sion has yet been made andalternat ive proposal s fo r this use, outside theCity Cent re , a r e a ls o under considera tion .The exist ing City Exhibition Hall which ssituated nearby,will be affected by a majorhighway propos al and i s r eachi ng the end ofi ts useful l i fe . he introduction of a varietyof us es for rec rea tio n and exhibition purposeson this si te , (which is adjacent to theenter tainm ent ar e a of the City) would enableadvantage to be taken of a variety of s er vi ce sincluding c a r parki ng and would undoubtedlyac t a s a s t imulus to o ther development in anar ea which is other wise just outside the maince nt re of act ivi ty .4 5 A region al ce nt re of the siz e andimport ance of Manche ster should be able tooffer a range of entertainment and leisurepur sui ts second to none, and the mos t efficientuse of cost ly faci l i t ies for opera, bal let o rspo rt wil l c lear ly be achieved if t hey a r elocated in the hea rt of the conurbation where

they a r e most read i ly access i b le to thelar ges t population and can s er ve the widestcatcl iment ar ea . Moreover , the establishmentof pr im ar y facili ties of this nat ure willgenera te a demand for l imited ser viceact ivi t ies such as res tauran ts , coffee bars ,night clubs and hotels al l welcome featu resof the life of a City which i s alrea dy mo relively aft er ho urs than many of it scounterpar ts .vi ) Education4 6 The cen t re ha s s t rong educat ional t rad i t ionsOriginally Chethams School (which sti ll re ma in sadjacent to the Cathedral) , th e Gra mm ar School,Owens College and the Mechanics Institute-later.to become the College a n d then the Institute ofScience and Technology, we re al l located in the

HIGHER EDUCATION


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c e n t r e . A s t h e C i t y g r e w s o m e m o v e d o u t a ndt o d ay h i g h e r e d u ca t io n a l f a c i l i t i e s a r e n owl o ca t ed in t h r e e m a i n a r e a s .4 7 . O w e n s C o l l e g e d e v e l o p e d i nt o t h e U n i v e r s i t yc o m p l e x w e k no w t o d a y , s o m e d i s t a n c e t o t h es o u t h of t h e c e n t r e , a n d o t h e r C i t y C o l l e g e sh a v e a l s o b e e n b ui lt i n t h i s a r e a , w i t h t h e ne wJ o h n D a lt o n C o l l z g e of T e c h n o l o g y w i t h i n t h ec e n t r e n o r t h of M a n c u n i a n W a y . T h e M a n c he s te rU n i v e r s i t y I n s t i t u t e of S c i e n c e a n d T e c h n o l o g yh a s e x p a n d ed , a n d t h e o r i g i n a l C o l l e g eBu i ldin g in W h i two r th S t re e t i s n ow o n ly o n e of ac o m p l e x of i t s b u il d in g s w i th i n t h e c e n t r e ; t h en e w C o ll e g e of C o m m e r c e , t h e M a t h e r T r a i n i n gC o l l eg e a nd t h e C e n t r a l G r a m m a r S ch oo l f o rG i r l s a r e a l l lo c a te d n e a r b y . In ad d it io n t h e r ea r e c o l l e g e s f o r f u r t h e r e d u ca t io n on t h e o p p o s it es i d e of t h e c e n t r e , n a m e l y t h e n ew S t . J o l m sC o l l e g e a n d t h e C o l l e g e of B u i l d i n g in H a r d m a nS t r e e t . A l l t h e s e i n s t it u t i o n s m e e t a r e g i o n a ld e m a n d a n d p r o v i d e a s e r v i c e t h at o n ly a l a r g ec e n t r e of p o p ul at io n c a n s u p p o r t .4 8 . T h e o r i g i n a l D e v e l o p m e n t P la n a l l o c a t e d1 2 a c r e s w i th in t h e s t ud y a r e a f o r e d u c at i on a lp u r p o s e s . T h e e x p a n s i o n of h i g h e r e d u c at i o nf a c i l i t i e s m e a n t t h a t t h i s a l l o ca t io n w a si n s u f f i c i e n t a n d i n 1 9 56 a n d 1 9 6 1 t h e C i t y C o u n c ild e c id e d t o r e s e r v e a f u r t h e r 2 7 . 5 a c r e sp r i m a r i l y f o r e x t e n s io n s t o t h e I n s t i tu t e ofS c i e n c e a n d T e c h n o l a g y . S u b s e q u e n t l y ,a m e n d m e n t s t o t h e D e v e l o p m e n t P la n h a v e b ee na p p r o v e d w h i ch r e c o g n i s e t h e s e a n d o t h e ra l l o c a t i o n s t o t a l l i n g 31 a c r e s , a s f a r a s t h es t ud y a r e a i s c o n c er n e d. In a d d i t io n twoc o l l e g e s , t h e S t . Jo h n S C o l l e g e of F u r t h e rE d u c a t i o n and t h e Co l l e g e of Bu i ld in g h a v eb e e n b u i l t o n 9 a c r e s of l a n d o r i g i n a l l y a l l o c a t e df o r g e n e r a l c u l t u r al o r o t h e r s p e c i a l u s e s a n dt h e n ew C o l l eg e of C o m m e r c e a nd t h e M a t h e rT r a i n i n g C o l l e g e oc c u py 6 a c r e s of l a n do r i g i n a ll y a l l o c a t e d f o r C e n t r a l A r e a p u r p o s e s .T h e a d d it i o n a l l a nd r e q u i r e d f o r e d u c a t i o n w i th i nt h e s t ud y a r e a h a s t h u s r e s u l t e d in t h e o r ig i n alD e v e l o p m e n t P la n a l l o c a t i o n b e i n g i n c r e a s e d b ys o m e 46 a c r e s a n d t h i s i s r e f l e ct e d in t h e C i t yC e n t r e M ap , w h i c h m a k e s p r o v is i on f o r 5 8a c r e s t o b e d e v o te d to e d u c a t i o n a l a n d a l l i e dp u r p o s e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e N a t i on a l C o m p ut i n g

C e n t r e d e v el o p m e n t4 9 . T h e r e q u i r e m e n t s of t h e U n i v e r s it y , t h eI n s t i t u t e , t h e C i t y C o l l e g e s a n d t h e U n it edM a n c h e s t e r H o s p i t a ls a r e b e i n g c o - o r d i n at e db y m e a n s of t h e j oi n t p l a n ni n g p r o p o s a l s f o r t h eH i g h e r E d u c a t i on P r e c i n c t , a n a r e a of 2 8 0a c r e s , w h i ch h av e b e e n d ra w n u p by M e s s r s .W i ls on a n d W o m e r s l e y a nd w h i c h a r e r e f e r r e dt o in m o r e d e t a il l a t e r in t h e r e p o r t . I t isp o s si b le t h a t f u r t h e r a r e a s b e tw e e n t h e H i g h erE d u c a ti o n P r e c i n c t a n d t h e h e a r t of t h e C i t yC e n t r e a t p r e s e n t p r i m a r i l y o c c up i ed b yw a r e h o u s i n g and i n d u s t r i a l u s e s m a y e v e n tu a l lyh a v e to b e c o n s i d e r e d f o r e d u c a t i o n a l p u r p o s e sa nd t h e s e a r e a s w i l l b e t h e s u b j e c t of f u r t h e rs t u d y .

v i i ) Residential5 0 . U n t i l m i d w a y th r o u g h t h e n i n e t ee t hc e n t u r y a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of t h e p o p u l a ti o na c tu a l ly l i v ed i n o r c l o s e t o t h e C i ty C e n t r e .T h e g r o w t h of t h e r a i l w a y s y s t e m a n d t h ei n c r e a s e i n w a r e h o u s e f u n c ti o n s r e s u I t e d i nr e s i d e n t i a l u s e s b e i n g p u s h ed f u r t h e r o ut f r o mt h e c e n t r e .5 1 . In m o r e r e c e n t t i m e s d ev e lo p m en t f o rc o m m e r c i a l p u r p o se s h a s r e d u c e d s t i l l f u r t h e rt h e p r o v i s i o n of r e s i d e n t i a l a c c o m m o d a t i o na n d a l t h o u g h a b o u t 4, 000 p e r s o n s s t i l Ir e m a i n e d a t t h e l a s t c e n s u s i n t h e s tu d y a r e a ,o nl y t h e L o w e r B y ro m S t r e e t a r e a m a y b ei d en ti fi ed a s r e m o t e l y r e s i d e n t i a l in c h a r a c t e r .E v en i n t h i s a r e a , a p a r t f r o m t h e f in e a n d w e llc a r e d f o r G e o r g ia n t ow n h o u s e s o n J oh n S t r e e to c c u pi e d i n t h e m a i n b y m e d i c a l c o n s u l t a n t sa n d p r o f e s s i o n a l o f f i c e s, m o s t of t h er e m a i n i n g a c c o m m o d a t i o n s s u b - s t a n d a r d a n dmuch of i t is s u b je c t t o c l e a r a n c e p r o p o s a l s .5 2 . F r o m a p l a nn i n g p oi nt of v i e w t h e r e i s as t r o n g p r i m a f a c i e c a s e f o r r e v e r s i n g t h eh i s t o r i c a l t r e n d a n d e n c o u r a g i n g t h e re-e s t a b l i s h m e n t of r e s i d e n t i a l u s e i n t h e C e n t r a lA r e a of t h e C i t y . T h e r e a s o n s i n c lu d e : .( i ) T h e p r o v i s i o n of a c c o m m o d a t i o n f o r


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people working in or n ea r the City Centreand reduction of the journey to workproblem, crit ical from an accessibilitypoint of view.

(ii) Provision of dwel lings in the City Cen treof whateve r kind, adds to the ov era llhousing stock and i s likely to make acontribution,directly o r indirectly, to thehousing program me.

( i i i ) People livin g in the c en tr e wouldstim ula te the growth and prosp erit y ofthe centre i tself , enabling grea ter use tobe made of the facilitie s provided . Theywould help to brin g life to the City at al lhours and introduce the more humansc ale and element. particu larlyrec ogni sab le in pa rt s of London and oth ercapi tal c i t i es .

53. Unlike shopping, offices and co mme rci aldevelopment, residen tial accommodation is theone use where it is possible to say that ther eis virtu ally no limit to the demand, provided itcan be built at a cost which c a n be afforded andprovided also that it is c ar ri ed out on a s calethat ena bles good environme ntal conditions tobe obtained. The grea tes t environmentalobstacle was o vercome when the City Centrebecame smokele ss and it i s the economichur dle that now has to be surm oun ted.5 4 . The re su lts of sur veys have confirmedwhat had previously been suspected, namelythat the area which was allocated in theDevelopment Plan for business and shoppingwas mo re than adequate to meet foreseeableneeds. The re is now al so considerableevidence that the r ea l demand for comm erci aldevelopment on the perip her y of the cen tre i sby no me an s unli mite d. Th e introduction ofresidential use would not only serve to take upsom e of the slac k res ulti ng from thereplace ment of declining warehousing use s bymuch mo re compact and intensive officedevelopment, but it would in tu rn st imul ate theprovisio n of fu rt he r shopping and oth erfaci liti es that would oth erw ise not be viable,thus contributing to the co mme rci al life of thecent re a s wel l.55 A way of helping to off-se t th e land costelem ent , a reflecti on of the high valuesassociated with the previous Central Area u ses ,i s to include a proportio n of c omme rcia ldevelopment in any sch eme , the mixed us esproviding an opportunity to achieve aninterest ing and truly urban sca le. The re ar esev eral ways in which it s proposedresiden tial accommodation should be providedon redevelopmenti ) Where there is the opportunity to cre at ean a re a which is predominantly

residential in character, althoughincluding a relatively sma ll percentageof other co mme rci al uses , and wherethe area is sufficiently large to providethe ancillary faci l i t ies necessary forordinary family living. It s


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conside red that the Smithfleld ar ea wlllbe sultable fo r thi s fo rm ofdevelopment, once the WholesaleMa rket mo ve s to ~ t sew site in Goston,and comp rel~ens lve lanning proposal sa r e at pre sent In cour se ofprepara t ion .

( i i ) The next ca se i s where the s i t e i s ofsufficient siz c for the redevelopmeilt tocr ea te a new irnproved environment ofit s own, but not sufficiently la rg e toconside r the provis ion, fo r example, ofeducat ional fac i l i t i es . Again apropor tion of the land c os t would beabs orb ed by the inc lusion of a n ele men tof coni mer cial development . TheLower Byrom St ree t ar ea , a l read yre fe r r ed t o , s su i tab le for th i s for mof development, the Deansgate frontagefo r example, being devoted principallyto commerc ia l uses . Again deta i ledp roposa l s a r e a t p resen t i n cou rse ofprepara t ion .

(iii) F inally there is the opportunity toinclude a n elem ent of resid ent ialaccommodation in predominantlycom mer cia l development. An exampleis the proposal a l ready approved forthe Corn Exchange ar ea in the vicinityof the Cathed ral , whe re a blockcontaining f lat uni ts i s incorporatedabove the podiurn level. O th er a r e a swhich would lend the msel ves to apropor tion of housing a s part of thecompreh ensive development ,include thea r e a to the ea st of Lower MosleyStreet , the Centr al and DeansgateGoods Yard ar ea s and the Market S t ree tr edeve lopmen t a r ea .

56. In relat ion to the la s t two catego ries ,ther e i s no doubt tha t there is a latent demandfor accommodat ion of a special ised naturecat erin g in the main for professional businesspeople, single people and sin al l householdswho would best he ab le to m ak e us e of C ityCent re faci l i t ies and would not requ ire thefull range of community se rvi ce s normallyplanned in associa t ion wi th a res ident ia l a r e a .This is , of course , subject again to thequalification that the co st s should be withinreason and that the f la t s themselves and thei rout look should be reasonably at t r act ive.The re i s no ev idence,as yet , in Manches ter ofany general demand by f i r ms to maintainaccommodat ion for vis i t ing execut ives , in theway tha t i s co mm on in London, but, ifsui table accommodat ion wer e avai lable,inte res t might wel l develop.5 7 . About 1 ac re s of the s tudy ar ea a r econs idered to have poten tia l for res ident ia ldevelopment and dependent on more detailed

study, i t is poss ib le that accom~ nodat ioncould he provided for a ppro s~in ate l y 000dwellings58. The Ci ty Cent re per form s a n addi t ionalregional f l ~ n c t in i n providing resident-iall lotels and anci l lary funct ions which cat er forbus iness v i s i to rs , conferences and meet ings ,a s we ll a s complel l ien ti i~gl ie l e i surefaci l i t ie s of the Ci ty. The Cent ral Ar eacontai ns thr ee ma jo r hotels, one of which ha sbeen buil t in the las t f ive ye ar s , but the re sst i l l a s er iou s shortage of hotel ro om s ofmodern s tandard .5 9 . Discuss ions have a l ready taken p lacewith develope rs rega rdin g the inclusion ofhotel faci l i ties in the Market Placedevelopment , the north Market Stre et Are aand Lower Mosley Str ee t . Another locat ionthat could appropriately include a n hotelwithin pr opos als would be the l3yrom St re etar ea of lower Deansga te.vi i i ) Transpor t

60. When the ra i lways and can als wer eestabl i shed they did not in gene ra l penetratet o t h e c e n t r e of the Ci ty, but providedtermina ls on the f r inge with larg e ar ea sdevoted to goods t raff ic; th ese use s todayrep res ent a ppr oxin ~ate ly n eighth of the landar ea in t li e Ci ty Cen t re . Many of thesefaci l i t i es , in par t i cu lar ce n t ra l goods depots ,canal bas ins , and o ther anci l l ar y warehouses ,have become redundant and the land is nownon-opera t ional and r ipe f or redevelopment .As a resu l t , l a rge ar ea s of l and aroundPiccadilly Station, Ce ntr al Station and theDeansgate Goods Depot will become availablefor other purposes; s imilarly, the Rochdaleand Asl iton canal bas ins , c lose ly assoc ia tedwith the land at Piccadi lly Stat ion, a r e in ader el ic t condi t ion and offer considerableopportuni t ies for redevelopnlent61. Th er e is adequate land within the co re ofthc Ci ty to ca t e r fo r shopping, o ff ice andgenera l com m erc i a l r equ i rem en t s t ha t a r el ikely to be required in the fores eea blefu ture and deta iled cons idera t ion is beinggiven to the possible use s which could belocated i n t hese fo r l ne r t r anspo r t a re as . TheCity is sh or t of land fo r both open sp ac e andres ide nt ia l purposes and in addi t ion,many ofthe s i t e s r e fe r red t o a r e par t i cul a r l y we l llocated for ma ss c a r parking-.62. The Rochdale Canal , whi ls t s t i l lnavigable in the Ci ty Cent re i s no longer usedcommerc ia l ly i t could however , p rovide apleasant pedes tr ian systein in the sout liernpar t of the City Cen tr e, l inking va ri ous openspa ces and approp r ia te public u se s betweenthe canal basin and Central Stat ion. This


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would then pr ovi de a lil-ik to the pro pos alsnow under con si der ati on fo r that sec tion ofthe Rochdale Can al to the e as t of the CityC en t r e .L .and Use Changes in Perspective6 3 . To summar i se , the p roposa ls fo r fu tureland use (Map 7 ) rep res ent signif icant changesin allocations, based on a more detai ledknowledge of exi stin g use c ate gor ies andtre nds than ha s been possible hi ther to . Themo st impo rtant i s a reducti on of about 100ac re s in the a re a a l located in theDevelopment Plan for shopping, con ime rci aland c iv ic uses , which ar i s es p r imar i ly f ro mthe knowledge that the se use s, even whengenerous al lowance i s made for anticipatedgrowth, can be contained in a more compacta r e a . The decline in warehouse and stora geuse s and the re al isat ion that these c an nolonger be ca rr ie d out eff iciently in the hear tof a gre at comme rci al c i ty , i s a fundamentalf ac to r in th i s r e - a ss e ssme n t .6 4 . Instead of being grouped with office use,the str uct ura l changes which a r e taking placein the req uir eme nts of the textile, warehousingand distributive trades have been recognisedby providing for warehousing in an ar e a onthe perip hery of the Cent ral Area , with goodac ce ss , covere d broadly by an industr ialno ta t ion . This a r ea is la r ger than theorigin al Development Plan allocation forindus try and alr ead y contains a highproportion of s to ra ge and light indus trialfunctions.6 5 . Within th e redu ced ar e a of about 39ac re s now proposed for Cent ra l Area uses ,the r e a r e s ix a r ea s compr i s ing some 140ac re s fo r which no comprehensive proposa lshave yet been pre pared and which req uir efur the r study. The are as north ofMancunian Way, between the Hi gher EducationPrecinc t and commerc ia l cen t re p rope r ,a renot yet r ipe f or redevelopment and theWhitworth Str eet are a in par t icular containsa numbe r of subst ant ial buildings. On theea st er n fring e of the City Centr e in theNewton Street area, the predominantly largeold buildings st ill have a number of years ofuseful life remai nin g whilst in the west, ala rg e par t of the linear ar e a south of Cen tra lStation wil l be requir ed for the City Ce ntreRoad.6 6 . An additional 7 8 ac re s a r e sugges t ed fo rpr i mar i ly resident ial use, most of which isallocated f or busi ness and shopping in theDevelopment Plan; there has als o been anincrea sed a re a al located by amendment tothe Development Plan for educationalpurposes .

6 / . About 30 a c r e s of rai lway land a r e likelyto become available in the sho rt term fo rother use, some of which was used forwarehousing purpos es and additional land maybecome available in the future.68. Although c a r parking does not appe ar a sa se par ate i tem in the tables, it has beenassum ed tha t in som e cas es th is wi ll beprov ided a

1967 city centre map

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