The Culture in the City scheme, which has been awarded £19.8m, is one of the first raft of schemes to be awarded money through the Government's Levelling Up fund.
The project is focused around two different locations in the city centre’s creative district. It will see the Upper and Lower Campfield Market buildings, which are both listed but in need of renovation and refurbishment, brought back into life as an affordable tech hub with more than 1,000 workspaces. The City Council will work with its development partner Allied London to deliver the repairs and refurbishment works and, on completion, to manage the Exchange tech hub workspace as part of the Enterprise City district.
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The Upper Campfield Market building is vacant and works on repairs will commence in March 2022. The Lower Campfield Market building is currently occupied by the Science and Industry Museum, who are working with specialists to ensure the safe decanting of objects from the Air and Space Gallery exhibits to new locations around the UK, returning those on loan to their home organisations and incorporating those from the Science Museum Group collection in future displays.
The Fund will also invest in three railway arches on Whitworth Street which will be converted to create a creative talent development centre for arts venue HOME, providing affordable co-working areas, a free rehearsal space and creative skills training for young people.
Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: "The Culture in the City project will help further develop the tech presence in Manchester - a key growth industry that has the potential to have an enormous impact on employment opportunities for local people, while bringing key city centre sites back in to use.
"Not only will this project bring back into use and preserve two historical market halls - and bring new use to some of the city's heritage railway archways - but also highlights the vital contribution cultural investment has made to the city’s renaissance. The lasting impact of projects like these to the city's economic potential cannot be underestimated as we recover from the pandemic."
