MANCHESTER BUILDING BOOM CITY CENTRE SOUTH | What's going on? Late Nov 2023

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Күн бұрын

This video is sponsored* by the Manchester Photo Walk. I am offering a 20% discount on the normal price of £120 so if you’re interested in coming with me on the Manchester Photo Walk, just quote the discount code AEW 20, and you will only pay £96. This special offer will end soon, so don’t delay! For more information on the walk, go to www.aidan.co.uk/manchester-pho...
INTRODUCTION
In this video, I go for a ride on my bike through the Manchester city central south area to see what’s going on in terms of new construction and also renovation.
0:00 Introduction from AidanEyewitness
1:20 Echo Street student residence under construction
1:50 ID Manchester former UMIST campus
3:07 Manchester Photo Walk promo
3:43 3 Circle Square construction
4:10 W3 under scaffolding
4:55 MMU building time lapse
5:00 Square Gardens by Downing
6:30 Vista River Gardens time lapse
We start with the Old Fire Station, also known as London Road Fire Station. Nothing much seems to be going on at the moment, and I can’t find any up-to-date information.
Next we go to the nearby former UMIST campus to be rebranded as ID Manchester. A new student residence is under construction next to it. This area is going to be turned into a knowledge quarter.
There’s a new building on the construction on the Circle Square site near Oxford Rd. After a quick look at the MMU building next to the Mancunian Way, we pass by the gigantic project by Downing which they have called Square Gardens.
Finally we check out the progress of Vista River Gardens next to the River Irwell, part of Trinity Island.
I feature the work of the photographer, Alan Malone. You can find him by going to Facebook and doing a search for Alan Malone photographer or just follow this link.
/ coastandcountrytour
The drone footage at the end was taken by Cinemaker / @cinemaker
(*This doesn’t count as real sponsorship as I haven’t accepted money from a third party!)
I used these great tracks from the KZfaq Audio Library
Your Suggestions by Unicorn Heads
A Caring Friend by Bad Snacks
Ammil by The Tides
Better by Anno Domini Beats
Better - Anno Domini Beats

Пікірлер: 99

@brianhunter6466 5 ай бұрын

The fire station is still under construction. Delivered there a few times. Lots of activity going on. I can imagine it's way behind on timetable and as it's listed. Probably money as well.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Many thanks for the information. From the outside it looks as if nothing is going on but appearances are deceptive!

@Ziggy.Q 5 ай бұрын

Hi Aidan, thanks for shooting in 4K, it looks great on my monitor. Even if someone is viewing it on a 1080p monitor, the image will look much more crisp. Plus, 4K is more future-proof. Considering your videos will serve as great historical documents in the future, 4K is definitely the best way forward.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Right, that's it then, 4k it is from now on! But I'm going to keep the videos short, like this one - I can manage the 4k better on my current equipment, and they take less time and effort to make. I want to increase the frequency of uploads. Many thanks for this feedback and I plan to get a 4k monitor now. :)

@ians3586 5 ай бұрын

I like 4K because, even though it probably doesn't make a difference on my computer screen, I occasionally watch on the big screen and there it definitely makes a difference. That's really cool that you've set up the Manchester Photo Walk. I would have never guessed that the extension to the Sackville Street building was built in the late 50's. Amazing. I know you've featured the old fire brigade hq before but it looks absolutely spectacular with its terracotta façade gleaming in the sun. Fingers crossed a new use will be figured out soon.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

The new use for the Fire Station is more or less agreed but it seems completing it is the problem. I will do more 4K and make shorter videos. This video has broken all records for views, but the shoot was only two hours and the voiceover and editing probably around 6 hours. My previous video on Metrolink took many many hours but its views are low. I've been doing the Manchester Photo Walk since 2010 but I only do it occasionally. The Sackville Street extension was planned in the 1930s but delayed by the war. I've heard they buried the steel nearby so the War Ministry couldn't get its hands on it, then dug it up and built the pre-war building in the early post-war era! The older main building is also magnificent, that was completed in 1906.

@jakubjodlowski8416 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for the another enjoyable and informative video. Love the 4k footage and relaxing background tunes. 🙏 All the best for future vids

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

That's a great comment! Many thanks. The 4k footage has gone down well. I will definitely use it from now on, in combination with a video length of about 7 minutes, like this one.

@KuroiGW2 5 ай бұрын

Some of the first cladding was installed onto Vista River Gardens last night, no messing around there!

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the update. I’ll be interested to see it!

@JohnPilling25 5 ай бұрын

I lived in Manchester while studying and working at Manchester University back in the late '70s and early '80s - UMIST was fully functional, the Hacienda was the hot spot. The corner house just came on line and Urban Splash was just getting started. How it has changed. Thanks for the update. I was born in Rossendale and grew up in Bury. I have been through Manchester a couple of times on the train in recent years but just cannot believe the scale of regeneration. Piccadilly station is still as dumpy as it was in 1980 especially for those who frequent platform 13. Same goes for Oxford Rd Station. Is that huge mural by Walter Kershaw still at the entrance to the old Trafford docks/Media city?

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Yes, I was in Manchester at that time. It was still exciting and buzzing, the music scene was amazing. Platforms 13 and 14 should have been upgraded along with the rest of the line through Piccadilly & Oxford Rd & beyone, but it never happened. The mural was effectively removed an covered up with a very large square advertising screen taking up the whole facade. The good news is the mural appears on the electronic screen between the adverts. I featured it in a previous video. Many thanks!

@JohnPilling25 5 ай бұрын

@@AidanEyewitness I lived in Trafford just off Kings Road for 11 years while at the University, both studying and working. I used to walk along the bridgewater Canal as it ran through the city from the basin, before the bridgewater hall down towards Salford. I took lots of photographs of the old sunken/partially sunken barges - it was 1980-81 - and it was totally derelict down there. I emigrated to the US in 1986. I've been back through Manchester on the train in the last couple of years as I now live in the Isle of Man and it really has changed - my wife used to work at the BBC on Oxford road - that's gone. The metallurgy dept at the Uni on the corner of Grosvenor St and Upper Brook street, where I studied and worked, was demolished and rebuilt. The Whitworth Art gallery was so elegant but, they've ruined it inside (gone all modern) I believe the Whitworth pub has gone too! It's nice that there are now lots of apartments in the centre these days. in the early 80s Manchester was deserted on Sundays. Thanks so much for documenting all of the changes.👍❤️. I actually knew Walter Kershaw, I met him while he was painting that mural in his studio in '79-'80.

@tomjardine100 5 ай бұрын

I remember passing on the train, and there was loads of new buildings going up.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Yes, you can see a lot of the new buildings under construction from the train.

@English_Dawn 5 ай бұрын

Re-your antics at the Theatre Royal, I heard Radisson Blue were going to restore it but looks like they have cooled on it. Apparently Charles Dickens once performed as an actor there. His sister, husband and child lived at Ardwick.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Yes i saw that RB had acquired it but decided not to do any restoration. Didn’t know that about Charles Dickens. As you will know, Lloyd George lived in Ardwick

@alankirkby465 5 ай бұрын

@AidanEyewitness I believe Lloyd George, was born in Coral Street ( is it still there ? ) facing Ardwick Green but moved to Wales, with Parents few days after birth. Anyway, Peace to all.

@Cinemaker 5 ай бұрын

Fantastic and extremely interesting video, brilliantly informative and entertaining as always! 👍👍😊

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for your positive feedback!

@darrensellers 5 ай бұрын

The Fire Station has workers going in and out every day and has for years. So I suspect they are doing the internal restoration.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Thanks very much for that information. I never see anone going in or out when I'm passing! Let's hope there is some news on the restoration soon.

@darrensellers 5 ай бұрын

@@AidanEyewitness there is a turnstile on Whitworth St I walk past every morning. They clock in and out there.

@davdep 4 ай бұрын

Great video and looks good in 4k👍

@AidanEyewitness 4 ай бұрын

Glad to hear that. My iPhone is now permanently set to 4k!

@paulmason6474 5 ай бұрын

Enjoyed this video thank you for taking the trouble.😅

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

It's a pleasure. Apart from teaching students online, there's nothing I enjoy more than making videos and then seeing massive views, like I'm seeing on this one. Many thanks for your support!

@user-mu4hl3ye2x 2 ай бұрын

👍👍👍

@AidanEyewitness Ай бұрын

Thanks for your thumbs up!

@itsonlyme9938 4 ай бұрын

I have noticed that the old Debhams building Market Street has had scaffold put up out side with do you have any info what is going to happen to it ?

@AidanEyewitness 4 ай бұрын

That is going to be in my next video which I’m editing at the moment. Online soon!

@JohnnyZenith 5 ай бұрын

Your video looks great. I didn't think you'd actually do it. Wonderful quality. :) By the way have you see the Viadux 2 proposal? 76 floors!

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

That's great, well based on comments above, I will shoot in 4K from now on, though archive footage will still be 1080. My archive photos are mostly higher than 4K so they should look good too. Yes, I read about the Viadux 2 proposal in an article by Jonathan Schofield on MCR Confidential. Very interesting!!!

@MateHall 5 ай бұрын

I love the videos Aidan, being in Manchester recently it's so amazing to see all of the new projects. Is there any chance your going to do a video on the new plans for VIADUX?

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

That’s great to hear! In the next Manchester video I will look at the Viadux plans. Many thanks!

@MateHall 5 ай бұрын

@@AidanEyewitness Are you aware of Ed Howe's Manchester development map? It's an amazing tool for keeping track of development in the city!

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

@@MateHall No I’m not. I’ll take a look. Many thanks for the tip!

@jonldronevideos 5 ай бұрын

During the summer months some of the construction projects have really come on.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Yes, and there are plenty more in progress. The next Manchester video will be a ride across what I call the 'central swathe' from Great Ancoats Street to the River Irwell.

@jonldronevideos 5 ай бұрын

@@AidanEyewitness that sounds interesting

@ThisCharminManc 5 ай бұрын

I hate that nothing is happening with LRFS. It’s an absolute gem.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

I feel the same. Let's hope the refurbishment will be completed, but Allied London really need to put out some sort of press statement to explain why there is a delay and give an estimated completion date.

@English_Dawn 5 ай бұрын

I understand Allied London found out there was much more renovation than they had bargained for. Mcr doesn't have an open-air theatre space like the Globe. As the Elizabethan theatres were originally court-yards of inns London Road Fire Station would be tremendously appointed and is extremely well connected for transport.

@English_Dawn 5 ай бұрын

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

It would be great as an open air theatre. I wish Allied London would inform us of progress with a small press release.

@English_Dawn 5 ай бұрын

What do you think they should do with the structure put up by Chanel in the Northern Quarter?

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

I think it looks good - they should keep it! I've not studied it up close yet.

@Roddersville 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Aidan ….would you know what’s happening with the old Theatre Royal on Peter Street ? I know it’s on the ‘at risk’ register ….such a shame for an historic Manchester building as it’s been years in the ‘doldrums’ …..

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

On Wikipedia it says there are no plans to refurbish it, although it is well preserved. That building has a special significance for me as it was there I saw 2001 A Space Odyssey, my favourite non-local film (fave local is 'A Taste of Honey'). I also went there when it was a night club. My friend got drunk and fell off the stage! It should be refurbished, though there are so many other venues around, it might not be viable. It's listed so can't be demolished.

@English_Dawn 5 ай бұрын

Last I heard Radisson Blue were doing something with it but they seem to have cooled. Apparently Charles Dickens appeared there when he was an actor. His sister and her husband and child lived in Ardwick.

@English_Dawn 5 ай бұрын

I hear the next phase of Mayfield maybe delayed due to interest rates. The Renault site next to Trinity Way, Salford proximity to Collier's Yard might see development, especially if Renaker or Salboy get involved.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

I'd not heard that about Mayfield. At least the old station builidng hasn't been knocked down along with the Star & Garter! I've heard about the Trinity Way proposal. Must keep an eye on it.

@ksauce95 4 ай бұрын

Very interesting point on the Renault site, are they planning on closing? Can see the case for that area being developed / built on

@andrewashdown3541 5 ай бұрын

Time to see if Google Earth has been updated

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

It tends to be slow at keeping pace with changes, but maybe a big city has priority. I'll take a look.

@andrewashdown3541 5 ай бұрын

@@AidanEyewitness No not there - we'll just have to wait

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

@@andrewashdown3541 :)

@johnchristmas7522 5 ай бұрын

I used to work in construction in London. Regulations are almost non existent or the contractors will find a way around them.(i.e Grenville) Cant remember the last time I saw a fire inspector. The most important thing to them is time and money. They will use cheap labour, with zero contracts etc. and push and push.They will also find way to loose their liability.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Well your comment shatters my illusions about high standards on today's building sites. That would need investigating. Many thanks for flagging the issue up.

@English_Dawn 5 ай бұрын

Aidan hi, thanks for taking time for the update. Thanks for the students tower Chandos Building report. Students or ex-students seem the go to for the developers. The residents of Hulme, I gather are none too happy of the studentisation of the area. Another sand-coloured student tower with double staircase is set to join Deansgate Square on the periphery. Glad to see Renaker's progress at Trinity Island/Vista Gardens. With your back to Regent Road? The developers want to develop some of the plot behind you and call it "Regent Park", Salford. Sainsbury's to stay but towards the North of the plot on Ordsall Lane I think they are planning numerous towers, two especially large. Now, I don't know how to explain this to you, are you sitting down? Don't know if you've heard? Salboy/Domis have broken their silence. Viadux Phase 1 has been topped out but what about Viadux Phase 2, the 15 storey office block which was to join Phase 1? Foundation work, I understand it, was carried out on the listed railway arches. Yet they said, after Working from home, changed the environment and finances building offices has gone South in their priorities. Peculiarities of Mcr & Salford meant there is a sizeable unfilled demand for residences. I had heard Phase 2 was going to replace the office building with a huge 60 storey residential tower. No longer. Salboy/Domis announced last week that Phase 2, subject to planning permission, would include at least 2 buildings. They said it would be classified as Phase 2a and Phase 2b. Phase 2a would be around 5 storeys higher than Renaker's Plot D proposal near Deansgate Square. That makes, get your breath, your telescopic and wide-angle lense ready for Phase 2a, a gargantuan 76 storey tower, approximately the largest building in Mcr. Designed by your chums Simpson & Haugh, but, wait for it, wait for it, it's elevations are to be Diamond-shaped not unlike Harry S. Fairhurst's zig-zag faced Renold Tower. I know you love your visualisations, please compare. Enough for you? Viadux Phase 2b is ANOTHER tower for your favourite affordable dwellings. Where is it going? Well they have small "footprints". Viadux 2b is, I gather, planned to be in between Viadux Phase I and the Beetham Tower. So Viadux has changed from 1 residential tower and 1 office tower to 3 residential towers and 0 office towers. Still enough for you? Salboy/Domis say the above are planned, subject to planning position, with a start date in 2024. However they have said they are hoping for a retail facility facing Albion Street to be the final touch. Your views? Please note, when Stockport was slated to get a Metrolink service, originally, it was to use the old tracked from Heaton Mersey. However they built the M60 on the site instead. Plan is, I still think, is to extend via East Didsbury but not by the original route. It's a shame about the Fire Station but, for the record, there was a major incident that has gone down in the annals as a major insurrection, outside it. I think it could have been during the General Strike when strikers and the authorities had a major quarrel involving fire hoses being used.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Thanks as ever for your very detailed and informative comments. I've seen the projects you mentioned, I feel overwhelmed, but I'll look at them one video at a time! They also built an industrial estate on the former Heaton Mersey station - stupid decision! I'll take a look at the Metrolink Stockport route once I have more information. As for my views, I need to look at the proposals more closely but I still feel excited by an even taller Viadux tower.

@paulfrancis8764 5 ай бұрын

First!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comment!

@yusuffulat6954 5 ай бұрын

BUILD BUILD BUILD

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Well, that's what seems to be happening, but when will it stop?

@footballfanar9717 5 ай бұрын

@@AidanEyewitnessI hope it doesn't. The better the skyline, the more globally renowned that city is. Look at NYC for example. Or London. If the construction continues at the rate it's at currently in Manchester, then Manchester came go into that elite category. Once the buildings that are currently being constructed are complete, then Manchester will certainly dwarf every other UK city, barring London.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

@@footballfanar9717 Good points, but does a great skyline equate to a better city for the people live there?

@footballfanar9717 5 ай бұрын

@@AidanEyewitness I 100% believe so. With every new development comes a mass of jobs. A wide range of jobs at that. So, in theory, unemployment figures should plummet across the region. Also, the most important thing. Health. More skyscrapers tend to correlate with the lower climate change causing emissions as the residents of compact cities tend to rely less on cars etc. Not that that's a problem in Manchester anyway as the metrolink is available which is electric. There are many more reasons as to why I agree that Manchester should 'BUILD BUILD BUILD' but it's mainly due to easy to digest correlations such as the wealthiest cities in the world (London, NYC, Tokyo etc) having distinctive skylines that draw an array of people every year which subsequently gives the region, aswell as the country, a significant economic boost.

@NosyFella 5 ай бұрын

@@footballfanar9717 and yet Manchester has the 2nd highest rate of destitution after the borough of Newham in London. "BUILD, BUILD, BUILD" you say? It's all just a ponzi scheme. It doesn't improve the standard of living for local people one bit. Btw places like New York with the big skyscrapers are facing a real estate market collapse because the demand for office space has dropped post-covid and the buildings are too expensive to be converted into affordable residential units. They should build, build, build more council homes.

@PAUL-ge1kl 2 ай бұрын

Don't mean any discourtesy fella but you seem to be the PR man for manc 'property developers'

@AidanEyewitness 2 ай бұрын

Absolutely not. I have nothing to do with any property developers. On numerous occasions, I have criticised and protested against plans by property developers. I stand between the developers and the general public and try to capture the developments as they are appearing, for better or for worse. There is huge interest in this subject and very few people are covering it in the way I am doing. You don't like the new buildings, please tell me more, I want to get all shades of opinion.

@kevinworrall231 5 ай бұрын

What do you think of the proposed new Manchester skyscraper which would be ten storeys taller than any other in Manchester ,i seen it on the news it's all glass which I like

@JohnnyZenith 5 ай бұрын

76 Floors. Viadux 2.

@kevinworrall231 5 ай бұрын

@@JohnnyZenith that's the one I hope it gets the go ahead

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

I think it will.

@AidanEyewitness 5 ай бұрын

Well, there seems to be a competition for building heights, as there was in New York in the past. My dad remembered seeing the Empire State being built and described it to me, including the guys balancing on girders 102 storeys up. Looks like we are experiencing the same thing here almost a century later.

@English_Dawn 5 ай бұрын

Salboy/Domis say it will be five storeys higher than Renaker's planned building for Crown Street i.e. Plot 5.

@archimedesxxicentury 4 ай бұрын

🧐 Project "The bee honeycomb model of the conglomerates" Will Solve the Problem of urbanization in GB 🐝. Archimedes XXI century 😇.

@AidanEyewitness 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for your comment.

@janettetaylor8760 5 ай бұрын

15 minutes cities that's what they building no cars allow. It's walk and cycle

@SRParsonage 5 ай бұрын

You make it sound like a bad thing. Manchester had been a wasteland of derelict brownfield sites and surface level carparks for years. It wasn't a better place to live because of it. infact no one lived there. Manchester (inside the A57) is too small to be a car park, Space is at a premium, The mills and docks aren't coming back so it's rejuvenate or die.

@iamjoestafford 5 ай бұрын

@@SRParsonage Precisely. With tens of thousands of people moving into the city centre who mostly won't own cars (vastly more apartments than car parking spaces are being created), we're surely going to see pressure growing to restrict car access into the city core from the new residents who will resent being crammed onto narrow pavements and breathing in loads of pollution. This could be a real opportunity to transform the centre of town, which is still mostly stuck in the 1970s at street level and can be extremely hostile to walk or cycle through. Exciting times!

@MrRock1878 5 ай бұрын

Just arriving into Manchester from Liverpool by train you can see how much ground we have to make up.

@janettetaylor8760 5 ай бұрын

it is for the elderly who cant mangae that and for the disabily people.. These monster from the WEF want poor people dead

@iamjoestafford 5 ай бұрын

@@janettetaylor8760 Please take a look at how they do things in The Netherlands, which restricts car use in city centres and is one of the best countries in the world for disabled and elderly people. Have you ever been there? You notice how old people, those with movement issues etc have so much more independence than in the UK. I have elderly neighbours and now they are too old to drive, they are essentially housebound and never leave the street aside from the occasional trip by taxi to healthcare appointments. If we were more like The Netherlands, they would be easily able to shuffle down to the nearby shops or go out to see friends.