Plans to renovate the Town Hall and pedestrianise Albert Square could be approved next week
It could see the city centre square enlarged and pedestrianised.
A £13m revamp of Albert Square could be signed off next week – which would see the city centre square enlarged and pedestrianised.
Manchester’s planning committee will vote on schemes to overhaul the square in a bid to make it one of the ‘finest civic spaces in Europe’ – as well as decide on a separate vision to renovate Manchester’s town hall.
The council has submitted a series of applications as part of the town hall’s six-year renovation – which could be approved in Thursday’s planning meeting.
It will see a suite of modifications to the town hall itself – including the creation of new visitor spots, replacing the slate roofs, window repairs and ramp adjustments.
And the plans include restoring Albert Square’s cobbles, improving its lighting and removing and replanting trees outside the town hall.
Under the new scheme, all of the roads around the square – apart from Princess Street – would be closed to traffic, so the open space can be extended up to the restaurants and bars that surround the plaza.
Historic England said that the plan would ‘remodel Albert Square to create a larger area, better used as a public events space, whilst creating an attractive setting to the listed Town Hall and statues within the square’.
Town hall chiefs previously said they wanted to make the area one of the ‘finest civic spaces in Europe’.
The Albert Memorial is in line for full restoration due to its ‘dilapidated’ state, while the fountain will also be cleaned up.
Bosses believe the detailed design will also improve safety by removing the need for a concrete barrier at the edges, using more ‘subtle’ methods such as bollards to protect a wider area.
Although the plans for the town hall have been welcomed by many, the Albert Square scheme has attracted some opposition.
The Victorian Society said that plans for the square represent a ‘serious error,’ one which will ‘detract from the success of the Our Town Hall project and will have a lasting effect on the qualities of Manchester’s most important public space’.
They argue that the proposed trees and planting beds – proposed for the north side of the square – ‘intrude upon the openness of the square’.
However, the association backs the plans for the town hall – which dates back to 1877.
Preliminary works have already begun on the renovation of the Grade I listed building, including the relocation of staff.
But a separate application going before next week’s planning committee also proposes the next phase of the town hall’s renovation; it includes plans for re-slating the roof, repairs to the original windows, new ‘welcome points’ for visitors and the complete renovation of the coroner’s court.
The wide-ranging proposal also includes plans for more disabled toilets, the installation of ‘lighting totems’ outside the building and adjustments to ramps leading into the town hall.
Historic England, which described the building as the ‘embodiment of the city’s pride’ backs the plans, saying: “The methodical and painstaking evidence gathering and pragmatic design development for the project have been exemplary.”
Officers are recommending that both sets of plans are approved.