Chancellor George Osborne unveiled plans for a £659million Airport City at Manchester Airport.
The 150 acre site has been designated as one of the government’s new enterprise zones and will include 1.4 million sq ft of logistics and warehousing facilities.
The ‘stage two’ masterplan identifies the creation of two core Airport City zones. The first is a development area adjacent to the airport’s existing railway station and to north of the M56, which will focus on hotel, office, retail and advanced manufacturing uses.
The second area, adjacent to the existing cargo centre at Junction 6 of the M56, will focus on freight and logistics uses.
The plan is that over the next 12-15 years, Airport City will deliver:
* 1.4 million sq ft logistics & warehousing
* 650,000 sq ft advanced manufacturing
* 1.5 million sq ft of offices
* Up to 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisure
* Approximately 2,500 hotel beds
Planning permission for the main site link road is due to be submitted within the next few weeks and upon approval could see work start in spring, with completion within 12-15months. The new spine road opens up the site for development and whilst demand will drive the initial phases, the design is such that several plots and areas can be developed at the same time, giving maximum flexibility of location to occupiers.
Charlie Cornish, Chief Executive of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), 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.”