Sir Howard Bernstein’s family has issued a tribute
The First Street estate(Image: Publicity picture)
The life and legacy of the late great Sir Howard Bernstein is being commemorated as a new road is named after him. The former Manchester council chief executive passed away aged 71 in June, 2024.
Sir Howard – always a powerful voice in London for Manchester – was widely credited with spearheading the city’s 21st century renaissance.
His name will forever be synonymous with bringing the Commonwealth Games to Manchester in 2002, the regeneration of Hulme, the expansion of Manchester Airport and the rebuild of the city centre after the 1996 IRA bomb, among countless other projects he relentlessly drove forward.
Sir Howard Bernstein Approach, a new route through the First Street estate in central Manchester near HOME, has now been named. Signage is due to be put in place at an unveiling at a later date.
The tribute echoes street name commemorations in the area over the years of those who helped define and shape Manchester city centre as it is today, including the likes of Tony Wilson, James Grigor, Jack Rosenthal, Annie Horniman and Isabella Banks.
Sir Howard Bernstein(Image: MEN)
Ask Real Estate is the landlord and lead developer of First Street, having delivered the early phases of the project with the council. First Street launched in 2015, with director Danny Boyle’s spectacular opening of the HOME regional arts centre.
Announcing the new street name, Ask said it had worked closely with Sir Howard’s family. The thoroughfare which runs off Medlock Street to James Grigor Square, and turns right to connect with Hulme Street, is now Sir Howard Bernstein Approach.
Commenting on the announcement on behalf of the Bernstein family, Sir Howard’s wife, Lady Vanessa Bernstein, said: “As his family we remember and miss Howard every single day. The naming is so appropriate for a man whose approach was to make Manchester a better place for people to live and work in.
“It is wonderful to see him remembered in this way in the city to which he selflessly dedicated his life and which he loved so much.”
Councillor Bev Craig, the leader of Manchester City Council, called Sir Howard ‘a trailblazer of modern local government’.
Sir Howard died in 2024(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“His legacy is seen and felt across our city as the architect of the modern Manchester we know today,” she said. “The First Street neighbourhood is one of those legacies and, ten years after its foundation, it is right that Sir Howard is memorialised in the streets he helped create as a lasting tribute to his huge impact.”
John Hughes, from Ask, added: “Sir Howard had an incredible vision for the evolution of Manchester, helping to shape today’s modern city. His foresight created a pathway which enabled developers like Ask to bring forward the many vibrant new communities that make up the city we know and love today.
“Our place-naming protocol for First Street is based on recognising and celebrating people who have developed the legacy of ‘Manchesterness’ and we’re incredibly honoured to recognise Sir Howard’s significant contribution to his home city.”
Sir Howard Bernstein Approach follows Annie Horniman Street, Isabella Banks Street, Jack Rosenthal Street, Tony Wilson Place and James Grigor Square.