{"id":1155913,"date":"2026-08-18T16:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T16:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1155913\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T16:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T16:34:12","slug":"planit-submits-proposal-for-overhaul-of-manchesters-piccadilly-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1155913\/","title":{"rendered":"Planit submits proposal for overhaul of Manchester\u2019s Piccadilly Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The North West-based landscape architecture practice is working with Manchester-based structural and highways engineer Civic and main contractor Galliford Try on the overhaul, which was filed with Manchester City Council this month.<\/p>\n<p>The designs for a New Piccadilly Gardens feature the removal of existing concrete elements and \u2018more green space\u2019 at the 4ha civic plaza in the heart of Manchester, alongside an improved children\u2019s play areas and improved CCTV and lighting.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Planit\u2019s scheme, which is backed by Manchester City Council, will remove low concrete walls and fountains, part of Japanese architect Tadao Ando\u2019s designs for the city centre park, which opened in 2002.<\/p>\n<p>A concrete wall that formed part of Ando\u2019s original 2002 scheme was ripped down during early works to redesign and improve the square in late 2020. Listed statues will be retained and enhanced under the Planit proposal.<\/p>\n<p>A proposed welcome pavilion will be submitted as a separate planning application, Manchester City Council said. The two existing concrete pavilions, which are retail units, will be retained.<\/p>\n<p>Piccadilly Gardens has been subject to several redevelopment proposals in recent years. This includes an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/lda-design-picked-to-redesign-manchesters-piccadilly-gardens]\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LDA Design-winning proposal<\/a> from 2023.<\/p>\n<p>LDA Design beat Arup, Studio Egret West, Rotterdam-based West 8, Planit and Fira Landscape to win the international contest.<\/p>\n<p>However, in its latest announcement, the council said the latest plans would \u2018not repeat what has gone before\u2019 and that the designs have responded to earlier rounds of consultations by the Galliford Try and the Planit team.<\/p>\n<p>Interim council leader Garry Bridges said: \u2018It has taken a lot of work to get to this significant point. Residents have told us loud and clear what they want from Piccadilly Gardens. They want the area to look better and feel safer and that\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re going to deliver.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This application will see a much-improved space: Putting the Gardens back in Piccadilly Gardens, providing a better children\u2019s play area and supporting a more inviting place all round.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Piccadilly Gardens was created after the First World War as a central civic green space for the growing city. It underwent a \u00a320.7 million revamp in 2002 following an international competition.<\/p>\n<p>Some preparatory works started on the site ahead of a planning application, including closure of the fountains. The Planit-led team was named in March and a final public consultation was held in June.<\/p>\n<p>Subject to planning consent, work is expected to complete in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>\ufeff<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The North West-based landscape architecture practice is working with Manchester-based structural and highways engineer Civic and main contractor&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1155914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,80182,16429,276973,16,15],"class_list":["post-1155913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-manchester","tag-manchester-city-council","tag-piccadilly-gardens","tag-planit-ie","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117117482809520697","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1155913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1155914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1155913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1155913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1155913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}