Chancellor George Osborne today unveiled plans by the Manchester Airports Group for the Airport City scheme which will provide a huge number of commercial property opportunities. The development, which is expected to cost £659 million, will provide more than 5 million square feet of offices, logistics and warehouse space and retail and leisure facilities on its 150-acre site. Through this, executives at MAG hope to attract international occupiers and allow Manchester to compete with European major cities such as Dusseldorf, Barcelona and Amsterdam.
The highlight of this exciting development will be a 2,600 ft-long park, which will be landscaped and contain retail and leisure facilities such as shops, bars and restaurants among others.
Manchester City Council recognises the potential of this development as a benefit to the local area, with Councillor, Sir Richard Leese, stressing that the decision to go ahead with the Airport City scheme “followed independent assessment of where the greatest benefit for the Greater Manchester economy would be delivered.”
He continues “We have the potential to create over 7,000 jobs as a result of successful development, and our approach to capturing tax revenues is designed to ensure their re-investment throughout Greater Manchester, including infrastructure.”
Charlie Cornish, Chief Executive of Manchester Airports Group, thanked the Government for their support of the project, which is hoped to aid the UK’s struggling economy. He said “Airport City is a concept we have been developing for a number of years, and we are now at a critical stage in the project’s life as we bring it to the market and commence phase one.”
“We were enthused by the government’s recognition of Airport City’s potential when it was named as the focal point of its new enterprise zone, because we feel that this project presents a generational opportunity not only for the wider region, but nationally, in order to attract new investment to the UK during the economic downturn.”
Long term, MAG Developments hope to extend the site. In the next 15 years, they hope to build 1.5 million square feet of offices, 1.4 million square feet of logistics and warehouse space, 650,000 sq ft of advanced manufacturing facilities, around 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisure facilities and at least 2,500 hotel rooms. With the proximity of Manchester Airport itself, the hotel rooms will prove especially useful for business travellers.
Also, the location takes advantage of the excellent transport links in the area, with visitors being able to access not only national and international air travel, but Metrolink, rail, bus and road networks as well.
