Drawing on nature to reimagine city living

Mayfield Regeneration

Manchester, UK

A landmark regeneration project is transforming a derelict area of central Manchester into a vibrant new community with sustainable ecology at its core. The multi award winning Mayfield Regeneration is being built around the city’s first new public park in more than a century.

Buro Happold is working with U+I, on behalf of The Mayfield Partnership, to transform the former industrial site in the heart of the city into a world-class commercial, retail, entertainment and residential hub. The development represents a brave new approach to urban design and planning, which actively promotes the health and wellbeing of both people and planet.

The development is being created around a centrepiece new 6.5-acre public park on the banks of the River Medlock.

The 24-acre site is creating 1,500 homes, 10,000 jobs, 154,800m² of office accommodation, and an exciting blend of restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and independent stores.

Development of the site presented the opportunity to naturally restore the river and open the channel back up, using wetland and marsh landscaping at points prone to flooding.

A new pedestrian route allows people to walk from Mayfield to Manchester Piccadilly Railway Station in just five minutes.

Challenge

Over the next decade, the masterplan will guide the regeneration of this 24-acre site into a mixed-use development that will create 1,500 homes, 10,000 jobs, 154,800m² of office accommodation, and an exciting blend of restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and independent stores. Staying true to Mayfield’s industrial past, the historic station, depot and railway arches that characterise the site will form the framework around which this thriving new community will be forged.

Buro Happold is playing a vital role in the realisation of the development, which is being created around a centrepiece new 6.5-acre public park on the banks of the River Medlock. The park opened to the public in September 2022.

Our multidisciplinary team of engineers worked closely with the wider project team to reinvigorate the area and realise both social and secluded spaces in which people and wildlife can thrive.

Solution

Our green infrastructure and environmental specialists collaborated with our bridge and water teams to restore the landscape to its natural beauty, encourage biodiversity, and create attractive parkland. Development of the site presented the opportunity to naturally restore the river and open the channel back up, using wetland and marsh landscaping at points prone to flooding. This has a multitude of environmental benefits from mitigating pollution and sediment in run-off to improving biodiversity, especially when used with complementary interventions such as nesting rafts for birds and greening of culverts and walls.

Sections of the park are designed to be flexible use areas, which provide space for recreation and wildlife when river levels are low, but then provide the city of Manchester with much needed flood storage when the river levels are high. Mayfield also provides a range of opportunities for different types of tree planting, from trees lining paths to areas of ‘urban forest’ which offer the potential for recreation and habitat creation. All will help to breathe new life into the city centre, both figuratively and literally – with such foliage playing a critical role in filtering air pollutants.

All of this was done in consultation with the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit and Environment Agency to secure locally meaningful biodiversity improvements for the site.

A further key element of our work was planning active transport routes through the park that link the development to the city beyond. We created a pathway that allows people to walk from Mayfield to Manchester Piccadilly Railway Station in just five minutes. It also connects the development to the city’s new Beelines network – the largest joined-up system of walking and cycling routes in the UK.

Value

As well as promoting health and wellbeing, these initiatives are acting as the spearhead for Manchester’s wider commitment to developing a comprehensive Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy that will see high quality natural spaces form integral parts of all city neighbourhoods.

The delivery of the masterplan is phased over 10/15 years from 2020, bringing a bold reimagining of urban living that reconnects the citizens of Manchester to the natural world throughout their daily lives.