Circle Square is an exciting multi-million pound, mixed-use neighbourhood, created on the site of the former BBC building on Oxford Road.
ID Manchester
ID Manchester (IDM), is situated on 8 hectares of underdeveloped land on the University of Manchester’s former north campus. Located adjacent to Manchester Piccadilly Station, it is Europe’s most ambitious, sustainable and inclusive innovation district development. IDM is aiming to create thousands high quality jobs in spin-outs and start-ups, SMEs that are scaling up, and global R&D businesses new to the region. It will transform GM’s reputation for science and tech innovation at a global scale, building on the significant momentum developed in recent years.
IDM will drive innovation, collaboration, and commercialisation based on proximity to R&D anchors including The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester Science Park, and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The University of Manchester, which accounts for 95% of UKRI awards in GM, is a shareholder and active partner, taking the triple helix partnership structure to the next level to scale-up the impact of its R&D capabilities on the city region.
The focus will be building high productivity clusters in frontier sectors aligned to local and national priorities, as well as creating an innovation ecosystem that promotes multidisciplinary and cross-sector pollination – from fintech to biotech, graphene to digital design, health tech to energy grids, and more. Key innovation-focused institutions are in place to catalyse clusters around advanced materials (Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre), AI and digital trust (the Innovation Accelerator-funded Manchester Turing Innovation Hub), biotech (Manchester Institute of Biotechnology), and health innovation (Christabel Pankhurst Institute) and digital arts (SODA at Manchester Metropolitan University).
A Joint Venture was established between the University of Manchester and Bruntwood Sci-Tech in February 2022 to develop the site and deliver the vision. A business plan has been approved and a delivery team has been put in place. Masterplan and Site Development Plan agreed, and landowner approval secured, in April 2023. A Strategic Regeneration Framework has been in place for the site since 2017. An updated Framework was adopted by Manchester City Council in Autumn 2023. A 15-year development horizon, with construction beginning in 2024 and first redeveloped building opening by 2027.
Over the next 10-15 years, IDM will deliver 1.8 million square feet of commercial workspace, creating around 10,000 high quality jobs, as well as 1,350 new homes, two hotels, and a net increase of 90,000 square feet of public realm. Bruntwood Scitech will be investing over £1bn into the scheme over the lifetime of the project.
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