Phase one of St. John's development given the go-ahead

The first phase of the St. John’s cultural and enterprise development in Manchester has been given the go-ahead.

With planning permission now in place, work on the development is expected to begin in Autumn next year.

Once complete, the new neighbourhood will comprise 2.8 million sq ft of work and event space, hotels, art venues, gardens and independent cafes, shops and restaurants, as well s 1,450 homes.

Property investment firm Allied London, which is delivering the project, has also secured consent to create South Village, a community of workshops, retail space and 60 apartments, along with public and private green spaces.

Michael Ingall, the company’s chief executive, said: “Allied London has long been championing Manchester and are fully supporting the Northern Powerhouse initiative, which now even has its own elected Minister in the Houses of Parliament.

“It is a mission of the utmost importance. Manchester has always been at the heart of enterprise, arts and culture and St. John’s will provide a platform for the city to cluster creative enterprise and activities and flourish with workspace, theatre, music, performance, events, craft workshops and independent retail at the heart of our new neighbourhood.”

Further, planning permission was given for developers to turn Old Granada Studios into an event hotel with bars, restaurants and roof terraces, in addition to a cinema, swimming pool and recording studios.

Last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne used the building to host the government’s latest Northern Powerhouse talks.

Commenting further, Mr Ingall said: “We have had overwhelming support on a national and international level for our new St. John’s neighbourhood and we are well on our way to delivering it and in doing so taking a huge step forward for the Northern Powerhouse.”

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