Hoardings have been dropped off and are going up at the much-maligned public space
Work begins in Piccadilly Gardens, as hoardings that will surround the fountain area are put into place(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Work is finally getting underway on the long-awaited overhaul of Piccadilly Gardens, as the ‘unreliable’ fountains at the centre of the controversial city centre spot are fenced off.
Hoardings have been dropped off at the much-maligned public space to surround the fountain area, after Manchester City Council said the first signs of the transformation will be visible this week.
Metal fencing and huge concrete blocks have also been spotted in Piccadilly Gardens. The hoardings are now going up around part of the space as the work gets started.
A wide-ranging package of improvements was announced in the autumn to enhance both the appearance of the prominent city centre space and people’s experience of it. The vision behind it – to make Piccadilly Gardens more colourful, more vibrant, safer and more inviting – was illustrated in indicative images released by the council at the time.
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Hoardings are large, temporary structures built around construction sites for safety, security, and to act as advertising space for brands. Around half of the gardens – centring on the area around the fountains – will begin to be boarded up to enable preliminary works including surveys and excavations. The remainder of the gardens will remain open while these are carried out.
Hoarding have been dropped off in Piccadilly Gardens(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The full scope of the project promises to put the ‘gardens’ back in Piccadilly Gardens – with more trees, planting and floral displays. When it was initially announced, the hope was for the changes to be visible by summer 2027. A new space for family-friendly events will be made by removing the old, ‘unreliable’ fountains and using the new space created to hold ‘enjoyable events and activities throughout the year’.
Council bosses say a new, flexible structure will be built on part of the space to help support events. They aim to make better overall use of the space by also ripping out what are described as ‘the unsightly low concrete wall and raised planters’ along the edge of Piccadilly Gardens, close to the Queen Victoria statue.
Vast concrete blocks have been seen in Piccadilly Gardens(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The council is to ‘refresh’ the existing children’s play area – transforming the space created by the removal of the wall and raised planters and creating a new playground for younger children. They say it 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 council is in the process of choosing a contractor and delivery team for the works and will announce who has been appointed in the coming weeks. Improvements to the appearance and functionality of the space will come with a range of other initiatives to help restore pride and confidence in Piccadilly Gardens.
The materials to fence of Piccadilly Gardens and the fountains have been dropped off(Image: Manchester Evening News)
These include a strengthened police presence through GMP’s dedicated neighbourhood policing team, set up to tackle issues and concerns in Piccadilly Gardens, and planned improvements to CCTV. The council has also been working on starting a multi-million pound scheme with Transport for Greater Manchester to create a new, modern transport interchange.
The council has confirmed that new turf, only planted at the start of the year after the Manchester Christmas Markets were held there, is to be dug up and donated to local community projects.
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