Piccadilly Gardens Manchester renewal design, City square development images, England urban landscape news

Piccadilly Gardens Manchester Renewal

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

20 October 2025

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

Piccadilly Gardens Manchester Design Renewal

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

photo © Adrian Welch

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