Manchester City Council's new town regeneration for Wythenshaw

Above: model of Wythenshawe town centre - courtesy Manchester City Council

The regeneration of Wythenshawe town centre will get a significant boost following confirmation of £20m funding from the Government's Levelling Up Fund.

Initially unsuccessful in the previous rounds of bidding, the funding has been agreed by the Department of Levelling Up, Homes and Communities (DLUHC) as part of the third round of the national funding – honouring the progress already made on the plan for Wythenshawe Civic with reference to the high quality of the proposed project and the fact that it is ready to deliver.

The Council is currently going through a formal tender process to find a joint venture partner that will drive the ‘once-in-a-generation' programme of investment over the next 10 to 15 years.

The opportunity is to transform the 1970s shopping centre and surrounding areas through an aspirational project that will deliver a new public square, new shops, net zero carbon commercial, community and cultural space, and around 1,600 new homes built on Council-owned land. The housing will be a mix of tenures including affordable rent and shared ownership options.

Since acquiring the Civic shopping centre in 2022, the Council has undertaken a period of consultation with local people and businesses, which was positively received.

The feedback collected from the local engagement informed a new development masterplan that was agreed and adopted by the Council’s executive in January this year. A separate process is also ongoing to begin a feasibility study to develop the cultural hub with support from a specialist partner to ensure it delivers for the community.

The successful joint venture partner that will deliver the regeneration programme in full will be announced in late spring 2024.

Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said:

“Over the last 2 years we have prioritised getting investment across our whole city, not just the city centre

"We know that the Civic is at the very heart of the Wythenshawe neighbourhoods – a focal point for local people to shop and socialise. Our transformational plans have been moving at pace. We were disappointed to miss out on the previous round of Levelling up funding that we hoped would be a springboard for the ambitious plans we have for the town centre and the surrounding sites.

“Our commitment to this programme of investment hadn’t wavered, and we carried on with getting the project moving but confirmation of this £20m will provide the kickstart we hoped for to drive the regeneration and deliver for local people a new public square, new shops, new jobs and new affordable housing.

“We want this to be an exemplar low carbon development that makes a real difference to the Wythenshawe community – and this funding is a significant boost to helping the Civic meet its massive potential.”