What do you know about the regeneration of Manchester?

Question

Specifically the regeneration of the Northern Quater, although any information is useful. Thanks x

Answer 1

I know it may sound completely terrible, what Im about to say but that bomb was a good thing in a way as if it would not of gone off, manchester would not be the sleek, cosmopolitan place it is today.!

Answer 2

Northern Quarter proper is north of Piccadilly Gardens, east of the Arndale, south of Great Ancoats Street and west of the Rochdale Canal.

It's a lot like Soho with chip shops, s*x shops and sweatshops lined up next to jazz clubs, art studios and wine bars.

M&S, Urbis, Printworks, the Triangle and the expanded Arndale Centre are classified as the Millennium Quarter - named so because of all the new projects that really didn't kick off until 2000. It's made a huge difference to the neighbourhood - Cathedral Gardens and the Urbis used to be a car park. There was also a road running between the Corn Exchange and Harvey Nicks. And you would not believe how dire the bus station was, but there used to be a string of bus stops on a road running through the Arndale coming out between what is now Next and Foot Asylum. The new Shudehill car park and bus station is streets ahead by comparison, but the bus station is underused as it's further away than the old one.

On the other hand, the Northern Quarter has not seen anywhere near the level of regeneration. At least not in terms of big clearances and huge developments. Instead, it's more the case of old buildings being rehabilitated.  

The exception to this is some of the residential developments. A lot of these are flats going into old buildings, but in the case of where I live this was a car park 5 years ago but is now a farily big and high density apartment block. A few of the ground floor residents have terraces (including myself) hence the name, Garden House. It is across from the old Smithfield Market, the beautiful brick walls of which still stand but which now shelter flats inside.

The focus is on the arts and independent retailers which is why there are so many galleries, craft stores, boutiques, non-chain coffee shops, etc. Afflecks really led the way and for many years was the sole attraction in the neighbourhood for most shoppers. Tom Bloxham started with Afflecks and now he's one of the most influential property developers in the North.

Nightlife is burgeoning here - one intersection is turning into an alternative to the g*y Village with Trof, Bluu, Rodeo, Socio Rehab, Walrus, Odd Bar, the Grey Horse plus three restaurants and several takeaways. All very trendy, but in lovely old buildings. Elsewhere you'll find a comedy club, jazz club and other performance venues - some of these quite well established, while Band on the Wall is being rebuilt completely.

This neighbourhood has some of the last vestiges of 'old' Manchester. The line of shops along Oldham Street give you a taste for what Victorian times would have been like, plus there are even older Georgian buildings left dotted around too. As much as possible these old buildings are being restored instead of flattened, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Answer 3

In 1996, the IRA planted a bomb on Corporation street. They gave the police 1 hour's warning, but the police didn't take it seriously. About 20 minutes before the designated time, they decided they had better act and evacuated the city. The bomb went off, injuring about 200 people but killing none.

Since then, the city has been rebuilt in certain areas, including the Northern Quarter. The new Marks and Spencers/ Selfridges was built, as was the printworks, the triangle and the new end of the Arndale centre.

There are CCTV images online that show the bomb exploding- it's actually quite scary. I was in my back garden at the time, about 5 miles away, and I heard it go off.

Look on wikipedia for more info. I was reading about it the other day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manche...