Who owns manchester arndale

Arndale was unusual, though not unique, amongst property companies in being based outside London and specialising in retail property. Hagenbach invested more and was the quieter partner. Chippindale was blunt and outspoken but was able to persuade sceptical northern councils to accept the company's proposals, where London-based developers could not. Arndale bought property north of Market Street in Manchester was traditionally the dominant retail centre of the conurbation and region, and Market Street was the main shopping street from about Manchester's position weakened during the s as the range of goods available elsewhere increased.

Salford had concentrated its three main retail areas into one, with the aim of eliminating the need for residents to travel to Manchester to shop. Stockport town centre had been cleared of cotton mills to improve its appearance, and a major through route had been closed to build the Merseyway Shopping Centre, which doubled local retail spend.

In quantitative terms, while in Manchester's retail spend was 3. In the s and s, the desire to provide modern shopping facilities was prevalent among most councils in major cities, where the Victorian buildings could not accommodate the needs of modern retailers.

The only change to the boundaries as of was in i. Boots took the , sq ft 10, m 2 gross extension in its entirety, their biggest store at the time. A public enquiry into the development started on 18 June , with a submission that the existing street pattern, while historic, was "hopelessly inadequate for modern requirements".

The city planning officer gave evidence that "the development would be comparable with the best carried out in North America and Scandinavia". The scheme was to include seven public houses and a bed hotel. An economist gave evidence that spending in central Manchester would double by The enquiry finished on 8 July and reported in early November The inspector approved the scheme, noting that the region north of Market Street needed redeveloping, and it was sensible to redevelop the frontage.

Manchester corporation compulsorily purchased a further 8 acres 3 ha of property in using money raised by selling land outside the city bought for overspill housing. The area was a patchwork of mostly Victorian buildings on a 17th and 18th century layout of streets, alleys, and courts. A map used for the meeting of the British Association shows shops fronting Market Street and Cross Street, with warehousing or office buildings behind.

Stewart is generally strong on Victorian architecture, and none of its 60 "principal buildings" were within the redevelopment area. Sharp et al. Pevsner, writing in when clearance was imminent, found nothing of note.

Sculthorpe, the town clerk, described the buildings as obsolescent in evidence to the public enquiry. Shop Property predicted in that as "new buildings replace the existing dilapidated ones" the city centre would lose its Coronation Street image, and become "very attractive" to retailers.

The Guardian , which had offices in Cross Street, wrote in that Market Street had been "depressing and decaying" for 30 years. Later descriptions are more complimentary. Spring in wrote of "monstrosities that have ousted the city's grand heritage of nineteenth century commercial and industrial architecture—if the recently completed mammoth and distinctly lavatorial Arndale Centre is anything to go by". Hamilton in wrote that the area reflected Manchester's wealth and leadership in the middle of the 19th century, with buildings designed by leading UK architects.

Moran in called it a "maze of characterful streets". The architects were Hugh Wilson and J. Womersley, as Sheffield City Architect, was responsible for the post-war redevelopment of Sheffield in the s and s including the city centre as well as extensive residential estates, notably Park Hill.

The developers and the corporation did not allow the architects a free hand. The developers demanded a closed building with little natural light and rejected a more open, roof-lit design.

The corporation insisted on a bus station, market, car parking, an underground railway station, and provision for deck access to subsequent developments. Cannon Street was to be kept open with no shop frontages. Market Street, a busy thoroughfare, had shop fronts as pedestrianisation was proposed, though this did not happen until Display windows were forbidden on most of the external walls of the centre and were instead inside. The architects, developers, and city council did not communicate well.

The architects realised that "the brief [as] given And we said this would not be attractive". Construction started in and the centre opened in stages, with the Arndale Tower and 60 shops opening in September , followed by Knightsbridge Mall the bridge over Market Street in May , the northern mall in October , the market hall, Boots, and the bridge to the Shambles over Corporation Street in , and the bus station off Cannon Street and anchor stores Littlewoods and British Home Stores in Our founders — the Arndale Property Trust — knew there was something missing not just from the city, but the UK in general.

Plans were drawn for a huge, revolutionary retail space, and the Centre was built between and Yet the iconic Arndale Tower is the same as ever.

From education to sport, the arts and social support, we host fundraising and awareness activities to help those in need.

Look out for new events coming up in our calendar. Or instead, tell us all about an organisation you think we should get behind. Find out more below and get in touch. Despite the popularity of "mall" shopping, many people regarded the Arndale as an eyesore.

It should be remembered though that this brutalist architectural style was fashionable at that time.

Although the Arndale wasn't damaged to the degree that adjacent buildings were by the IRA bomb perhaps the tiles protected it , nevertheless in it was given a major overhaul. The change is most apparent on the Cannon Street and Withy Grove side of the centre including the building of a large Next store.