"People say the bomb turned out to be a great thing for Manchester. That's rubbish."[1]
The city council had already recognised that Market Street had become unattractive, and was keen to see the "monolithic" appearance of the Arndale changed.[2] [3]
The centre of Manchester was showing mixed fortunes in the mid-1990s. At the west end of Market Street, Marks and Spencer were trading well and hoping to expand their store. [4] 300 metres south, the upmarket King Street shopping area was fully let, with demand for space exceeding supply.[3]
Conversely, immediately to the rear (westwards) of Marks and Spencer the shops and offices in The Shambles were unpopular, and regarded as the worst of the 1960–70s developments.[5][6] At the east end of Market Street, Debenhams and Lewis's both occupied premises that were too large for their current needs. [3] Market Street in general was at best considered unattractive, and at worst a "fearful" place to be "avoid[ed] like the plague"; previous attempts at improvement had made matters worse.[7] It was, however, the second busiest shopping street in the UK.[8] The area north of the Arndale, around the cathedral and towards Victoria Station, was effectively cut off from the main shopping areas by the impenetrable Arndale and Shambles developments, with the through routes (Withy Grove, Corporation Street, and High Street) unattractive to pedestrians.[9] The former Daily Mirror buildings (now The Printworks) on Withy Grove had lain empty since 1987 and several redevelopment schemes had come to nothing.[10]
Much of the demand for space was being filled by new developments outside Manchester rather than in the city centre. Marks and Spencer and John Lewis had opened stores at two new sites south of Manchester.[11] The Trafford Centre was due to open in 19**; it was not known how much affect it would have, but it was recognized as the city centre's primary threat.[3] Office space was being lost to new-build at Salford Quays (the former Manchester Docks).
The Arndale Tower was one of only a few office blocks in the city centre with a large floorplate, and fully let to companies such as ICL, BP, and P&O, yet could only command rents of about half that of prime sites, partly because of the poor image of the Arndale. [3]
In response to these threats, the city centre was at the top of the council's list of areas to be improved.[4] **Given that the Arndale development had taken 20 years to implement, during which time other parts of the conurbation had taken trade, planners and traders were wary of large-scale change.[12]
- ^ Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council, quoted in Lester & Panter (2002), p. 80.
- ^ Manchester : shaping the city. 2004, London: RIBA Enterprises.
- ^ a b c d e Williams (2003), pp. 172–177.
- ^ a b King (2006) p. 140.
- ^ King (2006), p. 144
- ^ Williams (2003), p. 186.
- ^ Taylor, Evans, & Fraser (1996), pp. 231–5; Parkinson-Bailey (2000), p. 222.
- ^ CHRISTMAS ROCKET - MANCHESTER'S MARKET STREET, in Manchester Evening News. 1995: Manchester.
- ^ City Centre renewal area and millennium quarter, in Manchester : shaping the city. 2004, RIBA Enterprises: London. p. 134–79.
- ^ Williams (2003), p. 191; King (2006), p. 181.
- ^ Williams (2003), pp. 189–190.
- ^ Manchester City Council and University of Manchester - Department of Planning and Landscape, Manchester : 50 years of change : post-war planning in Manchester. 1995, London: HMSO.