{"id":644010,"date":"2026-06-17T19:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/644010\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:24:15","slug":"finally-a-vision-for-piccadilly-gardens-which-manchester-can-be-proud-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/644010\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally, a vision for Piccadilly Gardens which Manchester can be proud of"},"content":{"rendered":"

New images show how Piccadilly Gardens will be transformed into a place Mancunians \u2018can be proud of\u2019 once again.<\/p>\n

The vision behind the plans from Manchester council is to turn Piccadilly Gardens<\/a> into an area which feels safer and greener, with a new space for activities and events throughout the year.<\/p>\n

The newly-released images show for the first time how the design scheme will look when finished.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n

It includes ripping out the \u2018unsightly\u2019 low concrete walls and raised planters along the edge of the Gardens close to the Queen Victoria statue, and improving the statue\u2019s setting.<\/p>\n

The old and \u2018unreliable\u2019 fountains at the Gardens will also be removed to create a new flexible structure known as the Welcome Pavilion, which will be used as a space for activities and events.<\/p>\n

More greenery will be brought in to spruce up the Gardens in a nod to its flowery past, with lawns, trees, planting, seating, and colourful displays for people to enjoy.<\/p>\n

The current children\u2019s area will also be revamped, with a new, larger playground for younger kids. This will be of the same quality as recently-created play areas at Mayfield Park and Ancoats Green, but designed specifically to suit Piccadilly Gardens.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New images show how Piccadilly Gardens could look(Image: Virtual Planit)<\/p>\n

Councillor Bev Craig, leader of Manchester council, said: \u201cWe\u2019re getting on with sorting out Piccadilly Gardens. We all want to see a space which Mancunians can be proud of – a welcoming and attractive environment which people want to spend time in.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo as well as other initiatives which are delivering more police and more CCTV, we\u2019re bringing forward this scheme to transform the public space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means investment in more flowers, more greenery, a new welcome pavilion, a new and bigger playground and an altogether more inviting Piccadilly Gardens. A bright new chapter is just around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plans to transform Piccadilly Gardens were revealed by the council last year and since then a team has been appointed working on the design and build, with a detailed scheme in place to bring the vision to life.<\/p>\n

Activity has been taking place at the Gardens since earlier this year, when metal fencing and concrete blocks were spotted going up around the fountains in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n

People in Manchester have long called for Piccadilly Gardens to be transformed into a space the city can enjoy and be proud of, as a focal point in central Manchester.<\/p>\n

It is one of the first parts of Manchester that visitors see if they arrive by train from Piccadilly station and walk down.<\/p>\n

Some Mancunians have longed for the gardens to return to be more like its former appearance, pointing to nostalgic images from bygone days of the former greenery and flowers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Piccadilly Gardens has become a place that some in Manchester look to avoid. But all that could be about to change under the new plans.<\/p>\n

The council revealed its design plans for the area today ahead of submitting a full planning application in the summer. A pre-planning consultation around the plans starts today, June 17, and will run until July 15, with more information accessible on the council\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The council want it to be used for events and activities(Image: Virtual Planit)<\/p>\n

Manchester council said that previous consultations have captured how people in the city feel about Piccadilly Gardens, and that their views have been heard \u2018loud and clear\u2019.<\/p>\n

This pre-planning consultation sets out how the designs have responded to those views, and asks for feedback on them to help inform the final blueprint.<\/p>\n

Once the physical changes at Piccadilly Gardens are finished, the aim is to set up a regular stream of family-friendly activity and seasonal events to be enjoyed.<\/p>\n

More changes are coming to the wider area around Piccadilly Gardens too.<\/p>\n

Further improvements planned in the coming years include a multi-million pound investment by Transport for Greater Manchester to create a new, modern transport interchange.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a major redevelopment at the Rylands building, the grade II-listed former Debenhams, which is creating a new office, retail and leisure destination, and recently-approved plans to refurbish One Piccadilly Gardens, which is used as offices and has food and drinks outlets on the ground floor.<\/p>\n

People will be able to view the proposals for Piccadilly Gardens, talk to the team involved and provide feedback during three half day drop-in sessions at Manchester Art Gallery in Mosley Street, just down the road from the Gardens.<\/p>\n

Sessions will be held on June 23 from 1pm to 5pm, June 26 from 10am to 2pm, and June 27 from 11am to 3pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New images show how Piccadilly Gardens will be transformed into a place Mancunians \u2018can be proud of\u2019 once…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,1768,3531,50,43735,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-644010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-manchester","tag-manchester-council","tag-news","tag-piccadilly-gardens","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}