Bold vision for how part of city centre could be transformed revealed in £1.7bn plans

New plans have revealed how Manchester's former UMIST campus could be transformed as part of a £1.7b project to breathe new life into one of the last districts of the city to undergo regeneration.

The project proposes a new civic square around which technology, health and digital enterprises would share expertise and flourish, potentially creating more than 10,000 new jobs.

It also envisages a 'bigger and revitalised' Vimto Park as well as regeneration of heritage sites on Sackville Street and the Renold Building, which would become a 'hub' for the new four million square feet innovation district.

It would also house 3,000 residents.

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The project, dubbed ID Manchester (IDM), is a joint venture between the University of Manchester, which is the landowner, and one of the city's biggest developers, Bruntwood SciTech (BST), working with Manchester City Council (MCC).

They have published a 106-page draft 'Strategic Regeneration Framework' which details each element of the project and includes artists' impressions.

It replaces 2017 plans to regenerate the area, dubbed 'Corridor Manchester North Campus' which, controversially, removed Vimto Park and a range of 20th century architecture.

The 2017 masterplan included up to 2,500 rental apartments and a further 500 hotel rooms on UMIST’s former Sackville Street campus - including a 21-storey tower block.

The backlash included fears from neighbours of over-development and city centre councillors questioning the lack of apartments intended for sale. In response the council scrapped plans to build on Vimto Park and accepted that certain buildings on the site had the potential to be