Would you bring up your kids in town? Inside Manchester city centre's baby boom

There’s a new wave of city-dwellers coming to Manchester — and they’re younger than you might think. Forget the 20-something renters who have flocked to newly-built apartments. Forget the students who arrive in droves from across the country - and the world - every autumn.

No, this new generation are younger still — children. And they’re at the heart of one of the fastest-growing populations in Manchester city centre.

The latest Census data — taken in 2021 — has revealed that across the city, the largest growth was in the 10-14-year-old band, with 9,515 more youngsters. There was also growth in the age five to nine group — by 8,000 — and in the 15-19 category, by 4,000.

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Although more detailed data by ward has not been released at the time of writing, the surge in younger residents is a trend that’s been growing over the last few years, according to officials on the ground.

Such is the demand for services, planning permission was granted last week for a new primary school in Deansgate, which had been in the works since 2020. Pupils are expected to walk through Crown Street School’s gates for the first time in 2024.

Talking about the growth in the number of families in town, Councillor Marcus Johns, who represents the Deansgate ward, said: “People get pregnant and have babies. You do often see people like that who will move on, not everyone will stay, maybe they will move on when looking for schools. That’s why we pressed for the school. People were saying they did not have the right facilities.

“In addition, with Manchester being a very international city, I think a lot of families like mine are more international than the families