Piccadilly Gardens Manchester renewal design news

Piccadilly Gardens Manchester Renewal

17 August 2026

Landmark moment as Piccadilly Gardens planning application goes in

A full planning application for the scheme to transform Piccadilly Gardens has been submitted.

The submission – the latest landmark in delivering the proposals to make Piccadilly Gardens more colourful, more vibrant, safer and more inviting – follows public consultation on the plans earlier this summer. Subject to planning permission being granted this autumn, work to make the plans a reality will begin as soon as possible.

image : Virtual Planit for Manchester City Council

Public consultation on the detailed design built on previous extensive consultation about what people wanted from Piccadilly Gardens and included drop-in sessions and an online questionnaire. Hundreds responded and were broadly supportive of the plans, with more than half (58%) believing they will provide a safe and welcoming new space, 67% saying they provided clear walking routes and almost three-quarters (70%) saying they would create a greener and more colourful space.

Concerns were raised by some about anti-social behaviour and how the transformed Piccadilly Gardens will be kept inviting. The Council and its partners, including Greater Manchester Police and Transport for Greater Manchester, recognise that creating a better Piccadilly Gardens cannot just be about physical improvements but will also require new ways of managing the space to ensure it is maintained as a safe and inviting space. Work to develop this new way of managing the space is ongoing and improvements are already underway, including a strengthened police presence through GMP’s dedicated neighbourhood policing team.

In addition to the main consultation, a series of listening and engagement sessions were also carried out with parents and children around the refreshed children’s play area to ensure it reflects their aspirations. New images of how the children’s play area will look have been released as part of the wider application.

The new children’s play area will look:

image : Virtual Planit

Key elements of the application include:

Putting the ‘Gardens’ back in Piccadilly Gardens – more green space including lawn, trees, planting, seating and colourful horticultural displays.

A new space for family-friendly events - removing the old, unreliable fountains and creating a new space to hold enjoyable events and activities throughout the year. A new, flexible structure - referred to as The Welcome Pavilion - will be built on part of the space to help support regular activity.  This will be the focus of a separate planning application.

Better use of space -Removing the unsightly low concrete walls and raised planters along the edge of Piccadilly Gardens, close to the Queen Victoria statue, and improving the statue’s setting.

Refreshing the existing children’s play area – creating a new, larger playground for younger children. This will be of the same high quality as recently-created new play areas such as those at Mayfield Park and Ancoats Green but designed specifically to suit Piccadilly Gardens.

The plans will also support a safer space through improved sightlines, better lighting and enhanced CCTV.

Interim Council Leader Cllr Garry Bridges said:

“The moment has arrived when we’re ready to submit our planning application to transform Piccadilly Gardens. It’s 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’s exactly what we’re going to deliver.

“There has already been significant investment in the area – including extra police and council resources – with even more on the way.

“This application will see a much-improved space: Putting the Gardens back in Piccadilly Gardens, providing a better children’s play area and supporting a more inviting place all round.”

The application reference is PLA-2026-001348 viewable at: https://arcusbe.manchester.gov.uk/pr/s/detail/a1DSl000009RsaD

Once the physical works are completed, the Council aims to ensure a regular stream of bespoke family-friendly activity and seasonal events to enjoy.

The new scheme will complement other changes taking place in the immediate vicinity of the Gardens, including the major Rylands redevelopment (of the Grade II-listed former Debenhams building) which is creating a new office, retail and leisure destination, and the recently-approved plans to refurbish and improve One  Piccadilly  Gardens .

Further planned improvements to the area around Piccadilly Gardens in the coming years will include a multi-million pound investment by Transport for Greater Manchester to create a new, modern transport interchange.

In March this year Galliford Try were appointed as lead contractor, working with landscape architect and lead designer Planit and civil, structural and highways engineers Civic to deliver the Piccadilly Gardens transformation.

City of Manchester Chief Inspector Mike Tachauer said:

“We welcome the next phase of the planning application for the new-look Piccadilly Gardens. Senior officers have been involved in consultations from the outset to ensure there is a strong policing input into these plans. Piccadilly Gardens is a space that everyone should feel safe and secure when travelling in and around the area. Our officers have ensured that elements pertaining to public safety have been one of the key focuses in the planning process including better lighting and more CCTV.

“We have had several experienced police officers who have strong experience around policing Piccadilly Gardens who have given an input to these plans, and there are a number of elements we have learnt from, for example, understanding how planters can be misused by those involved in criminality and how we can deter this from happening.

“There is also cross organisational understanding that the safety of the Gardens is a multi-agency partnership that we all need to be involved in to ensure everyone is doing their bit to keep our communities safe.”

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said:

“These exciting plans for Piccadilly Gardens will bring vast improvements for everyone who passes through it and for the numerous businesses who operate in the vicinity. The Bee Network is already transforming how people move around Greater Manchester and we are developing plans with the local community for a modern transport interchange linking buses, Metrolink and active travel that will help create a city centre that is greener, better connected and welcoming for everyone.”

+++

Previously on e-architect:

A new chapter for Piccadilly Gardens

Urban landscape: LDA Design

Plans are underway to significantly improve the appearance of Piccadilly Gardens and make it a more welcoming, sociable space.

image courtesy of LDA Design for Manchester City Council

20 October 2025

New civic architecture in northwest England design by LDA Design, UK

Manchester City Council is working with LDA Design on early interventions to make Piccadilly Gardens more gardenesque and inviting. This is in response to feedback from the public who said they wanted to see this vital city space made greener. The package of measures includes more trees; colourful borders including new planting to strengthen biodiversity; and better climate and flood resilience with new raingardens.

Newly released images show extensive replanting within the Gardens introducing year-round colour throughout. The dry fountains in the centre of the Gardens will be decommissioned to create a generous new space, to unlock opportunities for a programme of family-friendly activities and events.

With the removal of redundant and unsightly walls and planters to the north of the Gardens, the children’s play area will be improved, and a new pedestrian boulevard will be created connecting to the events space.

Measures are also being introduced to make the space feel safer. A new police response team and multi-agency team will be permanently based in Piccadilly Gardens.

Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “Manchester City Centre has grown and changed, and there are lots of exciting things happening in our city. We need Piccadilly Gardens to up its game and play its part in welcoming millions of people into our city every year. This plan, getting underway quickly, is the beginning of a bright new chapter for Piccadilly Gardens.”

Changes include:

New events space – replacing the dry fountains with a space for events, building on the success of this summer’s MCR Live 25 with a curated all-year-round programme to animate the Gardens. Planning permission will be sought to remove the fountains and create the new events and activities zone. A new, flexible structure will be built on part of the space to help support events.

Improving playfulness in the Gardens – removing degraded concrete walls and raised planters to create a more open, attractive, and functional space for the children’s play area beside it. New informal, low-level play elements will be incorporated across the Gardens.

A strengthened police and multi-agency presence and upgraded CCTV – greater reassurance will be provided by the permanent presence of council, police, and other agencies in Piccadilly Gardens, to improve its management and ensure the swift resolution of any issues.

Improved lighting – to animate the Gardens

This is the first step in a two-part journey towards a wider transformation. John Simpson, design lead for Piccadilly Gardens at LDA Design said: “Our work on the wider long-term vision for the transformation of the Gardens has helped frame and inform these proposals, to create a safer, more welcoming, playful, and greener space. A place that the people of Manchester can be proud of once more. What is delivered will give the opportunity to assess how well the different elements work, which will help inform the long-term vision.”

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, commented: “Piccadilly Gardens plays a vital role in connecting people across our city region, with hundreds of thousands of journeys made in and around there every single week.” Transport for Greater Manchester is working with the Council on plans for a new, modern transport interchange.”

Images: LDA Design for Manchester City Council

More information here: https://www.manchester.gov.uk/news/article/9790/a_bright_new_chapter_for_piccadilly_gardens

Previously on e-architect:

24 Jul 2017

New Piccadilly Gardens Design

Date of previous renewal: 2002
New Design: Urban Edge
Original Design: Tadao Ando Architect

The Japanese architect’s only building in the UK.

Demolition of Piccadilly Gardens Pavilion by Tadao Ando

Plans first mooted in November 2016 to demolish and replace architect Tadao Ando’s concrete pavilion at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester appear to be progressing.

Pair of larger pavilions designed by Urban Edge:

image courtesy of architects