A planning application for the Piccadilly Gardens redesign proposal has been filed with Manchester City Council, with landscape architecture practice Planit leading a team that includes structural and highways engineer Civic and main contractor Galliford Try.
The scheme targets the 4ha civic plaza in the centre of Manchester, proposing the removal of existing concrete elements, more green space, an improved children’s play area, and upgraded CCTV and lighting. According to IN Site, the plans include 49 trees, giving material substance to the council’s commitment to putting the gardens back into Piccadilly Gardens.
Removing Ando’s concrete legacy
The council-backed scheme will remove the low concrete walls and fountains that formed part of the original design by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, which opened following a £20.7 million revamp in 2002. A concrete wall from that scheme was already removed during early works in late 2020. The two existing concrete retail pavilions will be retained, and a proposed welcome pavilion will be submitted as a separate planning application.
The listed statues at the site are not simply being left in place. According to Place North West, the restoration and cleaning of the three listed statues depicting Queen Victoria, James Watt, and Robert Peel is also included within the scope of the project. That level of heritage investment sits alongside the broader public-realm improvements and gives the scheme a more comprehensive character than previous proposals.
Safety, movement and the Piccadilly Gardens redesign proposal
The scheme reaches beyond the garden boundaries in important ways. Manchester City Council is also working with Greater Manchester Police to increase the force’s presence in the park, according to Place North West, addressing long-standing concerns about the safety and amenity of the space. Separately, rethinking the existing transport interchange is also on the agenda, which could have implications for pedestrian movement and accessibility across this part of the city centre.
Interim council leader Garry Bridges set out the aims plainly: ‘It 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’s exactly what we’re going to deliver.’ He added that the application would deliver ‘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.’
A long road through competition and consultation
Piccadilly Gardens was established after the First World War as a central civic green space for a growing city. Its 2002 transformation followed an international competition. The site has been subject to several redevelopment proposals since, including an LDA Design-winning proposal from 2023, when LDA Design beat Arup, Studio Egret West, Rotterdam-based West 8, Planit, and Fira Landscape in an international contest.
The council acknowledged the difficult history directly, stating that the latest plans would ‘not repeat what has gone before’ and that the designs have responded to earlier rounds of consultations carried out by the Galliford Try and Planit team. The Planit-led team was named in March and a final public consultation was held in June. Some preparatory works have already started on site, including closure of the fountains.
From a sustainability and public-realm perspective, the programme represents a clear shift in direction: trading hard concrete infrastructure for canopy cover, biodiversity opportunity, and a more legible civic space. Whether the embodied carbon costs of demolishing Ando’s remaining concrete elements are being formally assessed against the scheme’s green gains has not been stated in the application materials released so far. Subject to planning consent, work is expected to complete in 2027.
