Trafford Council has announced the appointment of a consortium led by architecture firm Allies and Morrison to design a strategic master plan for the land around what is proposed to be the new stadium for Manchester United.
Today’s (Wednesday’s) appointment follows the launch of a tender process back in January. The consortium, which also includes SLA landscape, Civic Engineers and property specialists JLL, will carry out the Council’s plan to revitalise Trafford Wharfside, leading to thousands of new homes and jobs in the area through what has been touted as the biggest regeneration project in the country.
Complementing last month’s confirmation from United of plans to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium as the centrepiece of the regeneration of the Old Trafford area, the related master plan will focus on the adjoining neighbourhood, especially the waterfront opposite the Media City area of Manchester.
The consortium will work with Trafford Council alongside Manchester United, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), a proposed Mayoral Development Corporation and other key partners to deliver a “transformational and sustainable international destination” for the benefit of residents, businesses and visitors. The master plan is aimed to be completed early next year.
Cllr Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, said: “The Old Trafford Regeneration is one of the biggest growth opportunities in the country and will be fantastic for our borough. New homes, new neighbourhoods, new businesses, new jobs, new green spaces and new community facilities – all within walking distance of public transport.
“A lot of publicity has been about Manchester United’s new stadium. This regeneration will complement those plans, and our master plan will be central to shaping the future of this area. We are delighted to be starting the master planning in earnest and look forward to working with the project team to deliver a comprehensive vision for the neighbourhood.”
The contract is worth £150,000 (€173,318/$191,348), according to Place North West, with Allies and Morrison having previously drawn up the plans for property developer Related Argent for the 66-acre regeneration of the King’s Cross area of London.
A report which went to the Trafford Council Executive revealed the regeneration proposals could create around 48,000 new jobs in the borough and add £4.2bn to the local economy.
The vision, given the green light by the Executive, supports the Council’s priorities to reducing health inequalities, supporting people out of poverty and addressing the climate crisis. It intends to create a greener, more natural place in which to live and visit.
The Wharfside Strategic Masterplan would cover a much wider area than previous planning documents and could deliver up to 15,000 homes over the lifetime of the project, compared to the earlier envisioned figure of around 5,000.
The GMCA in January set out plans to form a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) for the Old Trafford area of Manchester. The GMCA put forward out an ambitious 10-year plan to “turbocharge growth” and deliver tens of thousands of new jobs and homes for its residents through pioneering a new way of delivering large-scale development and transformative regeneration.
Proposals would see the whole Greater Manchester system mobilised to deliver £1bn of investment every year for the next decade and build homes on a scale and at a pace not seen in the past 20 years.
At the heart of the plan is the creation of a single pipeline for growth, which would target investment at six Growth Locations across Greater Manchester. The area around United’s stadium in Old Trafford has been listed as a focal point of the Western Gateway Growth Location, with plans to create new housing, commercial and public space around a new 100,000-seat stadium.
Commenting on the contract win, Paul Eaton, partner at Allies and Morrison, said: “Trafford Wharfside has been recognised for some time as a focus for regeneration in the city, with the potential to become a thriving new neighbourhood.
“Our team will shape a proposal for the area that realises this exciting potential; a sustainable, deliverable vision that integrates new homes and employment with sport, supporting Trafford’s aspirations and ambitions for the future.
“This is a huge opportunity for Trafford, for the city and for our Manchester studio. We are delighted with this appointment and look forward to working with the Council and its partners.”
The first conceptual images and scaled models of what United’s new stadium and surrounding area could look like were unveiled last month by Foster + Partners, the architecture group appointed to design the stadium district.
United said the stadium and wider regeneration project has the potential to deliver an additional £7.3bn per year to the UK economy, and create up to 92,000 new jobs and more than 17,000 new homes. The club also anticipates the project will drive an additional 1.8 million visitors annually.
The images and models released by Foster + Partners provide a masterplan for more detailed feasibility consultation, design and planning work.
Norman Foster, founder and executive chairman of Foster + Partners, has said the stadium will take five years to build and it is expected that the project could cost more than £2bn. United has yet to confirm how the venture will be funded.
