Manchester city centre will expand into areas like Hulme, Ardwick, and Strangeways under new council plans to redraw its boundaries.
Manchester council released its draft local plan on Wednesday (September 3), the first update of the legally-required development blueprint since 2012.
In the 205-page document, town hall chiefs revealed they plan to redraw city centre boundaries 'to ensure its footprint can capitalise on its potential' and 'remain the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's most significant economic driver outside of London, enabling further economic and employment growth'.
Newly-added areas to the city centre include parts of Ardwick, swathes of Cheetham Hill, most of Hulme, and all of Ancoats and New Islington.
Authority bosses say the new borders reflect existing and planned development.
"The city centre has gone through a huge resurgence since the 1980s, providing around 10pc of all jobs in Greater Manchester, over 13,000 new residential units since 2010 and it has an estimated population of 100,000," the draft local plan said.
"As the city centre has grown, finding further space within existing boundaries to enable the scale of development which is needed to support economic growth can be challenging. The city centre expansion into the fringe areas had been taking place for some time.
"The areas of Ancoats and New Islington have become its new suburbs, with other areas identified for further high density development. To reflect this, it is proposed to extend the City Centre boundary into the areas of Ancoats and New Islington, Strangeways, Victoria North and Manchester Science Park to accommodate city centre growth."
Interestingly, a small island of non-city centre will exist in Hulme, which is the Aquarius Estate, where no further development is planned.
While the council says it's following existing development trends, the changes also mean it's easier for office blocks to be built in fringe areas, as part of 'mixed use' development.
The plan goes on: "[The city centre will] make provision for homes as part of mixed use schemes. Proposals without employment opportunities will be the exception and must have a clear justification. The city centre should meet residential space standards and offer a range of tenures and types, including accommodation for students, professionals, and families."
It also appears cultural businesses will have a greater area to operate in as they will enjoy 'protection and make provision for the night-time economy where it contributes to the leisure and cultural offer in the city centre and where the impact on amenity is acceptable'.
The local plan will be discussed before it goes to public consultation at a Manchester council executive meeting on Wednesday (September 10) at 2pm.
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