Piccadilly Gardens £25m Transformation Begins With Work On Concrete Pavilion

Piccadilly Gardens is well overdue some love and it just so happens that works to redevelop the pavilion structure in the Manchester city centre green space have begun today (January 29). The £25 million transformation of Piccadilly Gardens is being lead by Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), in partnership with Manchester City Council, and the works include splitting the pavilion into two separate parts by removing the concrete canopy and adding new lighting around its perimeter.

The pavilion sits at the edge of the Piccadilly Gardens site and acts as a gateway between the green public space of the Gardens and the transport interchange. The concrete structure is currently home to Bunsik and the newly opened Blank Street Coffee, which will also be refurbished as part of the plans.

The redevelopment is designed to complement the Council’s wider ambition for a transformation of Piccadilly Gardens and the surrounding area. LDA Design were appointed by the Council as the design team in Summer 2023 to draw up detailed plans for public consultation and a planning application later this year.

The council’s design brief calls for Piccadilly Gardens to be carefully designed to support a flexible space which tens of thousands of people walk through every day, retain the existing listed monuments and statues, and tramlines and infrastructure, in addition to the existing Pavilion structure.

Alongside the change to the pavilion, a feature art installation comprising metal, glass and LED lighting designed by SpaceInvader Design and Mancunian artist Lazerian, with lighting specialist Artin will be completed by end of June 2024. The art installation will feature thread-like lines and holes in a nod to Manchester’s cotton industry.

Rob Codling, Senior Fund Manager for LGIM, said: “We are pleased to begin work on the site and hope that we achieve our combined aim with Manchester City Council in making the space a more enjoyable place for residents and visitors to the city.”

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Piccadilly Gardens is a prominent location which we want to become an outstanding public space for residents and visitors alike. Later this year we look forward to sharing with the public our significant plans to transform the Gardens and the surrounding area.

“In the meantime, it’s great to see this scheme – which will complement the wider plans – begin on site as the first stage in the transformation of the Gardens.”