Manchester City Council Item 20 Executive 26 October 2011 Manchester City Council Report for Resolution Report to: The Executive – 26 October 2011 Subject: Corn Exchange - A New Vision Report of: The Chief Executive Summary This report presents a new vision and strategy for the Corn Exchange (the Triangle) and proposals for the public realm around the building and in Exchange Square, and presents recommendations Recommendations The Executive is recommended to: i) Agree in principle the new vision and strategy for the Corn Exchange as set out in this report; ii) Request the Chief Executive undertake a consultation exercise on the vision and strategy with local landowners and occupiers; and iii) Request the Chief Executive submit a further report on the outcome of the consultation exercise. Wards Affected: City Centre Community Strategy Spine Summary of the contribution to the strategy Performance of the economy of The Corn Exchange is a key anchor building in the the region and sub region retail core. By maximising its contribution to the functionality of the city centre the Corn Exchange has the potential to promote economic growth. Reaching full potential in Ensuring this landmark building is brought back education and employment into full use with a diverse retail offer will create job opportunities for local residents. Individual and collective self esteem – mutual respect Manchester City Council Item 20 Executive 26 October 2011 Neighbourhoods of Choice The provision of accessible independent retailing and quality food provision is important to promote the city centre as a visitor destination and a sustainable residential neighbourhood, in terms of quality of life and environmental performance. Full details are in the body of the report, along with any implications for: • Equal Opportunities Policy • Risk Management • Legal Considerations Financial Consequences – Revenue None Financial Consequences – Capital None Contact Officers: Name: Howard Bernstein Name: Pat Bartoli Position: Chief Executive Position: City Centre Regeneration Telephone: 234 3006 Telephone: 234 3329 e-mail: [email protected] email: [email protected] Name: Dave Roscoe Position: City Centre Planning Team Telephone: 234 3567 Email: [email protected] Background documents (available for public inspection): The following documents disclose important facts on which the report is based and have been relied upon in preparing the report. Copies of the background documents are available up to 4 years after the date of the meeting. If you would like a copy please contact one of the contact officers above. Report by Aviva – A Strategic Approach to Revitalising Manchester’s Corn Exchange – September 2011 Manchester City Council Item 20 Executive 26 October 2011 1. Background 1.1 The Corn Exchange is a grade II listed building situated in the Cathedral Conservation area. It is triangular in shape and is bounded by Fennell Street, Cathedral Street and Hanging Ditch. It is situated immediately adjacent to Manchester Cathedral (Grade 1) and in close proximity to Chethams (Grade 1) and Urbis. It is located on Exchange Square within the Millennium Quarter and is within the area that was extensively redeveloped following the bomb in 1996. 1.2 The building occupies a strategically important location in this part of the city centre at the interface of the retail core and the Millennium Quarter. It therefore plays a significant role in relation to the success and attraction of both the shopping core and the visitor attractions that are to be found in the Millennium Quarter. It also performs a pivotal role in terms of linkages and connectivity in the city centre and is central to integrating Victoria Station and Chetham’s into the heart of the city centre. The importance and significance of the role and function of the building will be strengthened with the redevelopment of Noma. While the approach to developing a framework is normally applied to a wider area, Officers consider that given the pivotal position of the building to the effective functioning of the city centre, this approach is justified in the case of this building. 1.3 The Exchange was extensively damaged by the bomb in 1996, and as a consequence was significantly altered internally. However, much of the historic architecture of the building and in particular the principal façade onto Exchange Square survived largely intact. The restored building re-opened as the Triangle in 2000. 2. Introduction 2.1 The Triangle has not been a commercial success despite its strategic position at the edge of the retail core, in proximity to a mix of leisure, cultural, and business uses and key public transport nodes including Victoria Station.. There have been numerous attempts over the years to bring new activity and vibrancy to the centre, but these have principally been focused on trying to enhance its visibility and profile within the retail core. Different interventions have been applied to its external appearance and new structures introduced into the public realm to highlight and promote its existence and entrances. These have essentially been cosmetic exercises that have failed to address the underlying and fundamental issue of defining a specific role and function for the building within the wider retail offer of the city centre. 2.2 This lack of commercial success can be attributed to a number of factors. There have been successive failures over the years to deliver the right environment and required mix of offer. The centre is physically detached from and does not complement the city centre’s retail offer, and this is compounded to some extent by some of the obstacles to access within the public realm and an obscured entrance. The impact of this commercial failure has not been confined to the building alone, with Exchange Square and Cathedral Gardens Manchester City Council Item 20 Executive 26 October 2011 and areas to the north of the city centre having suffered as a consequence of a lack of activity and footfall. 2.3 In order to address these long-standing problems, the current owners, Aviva, have commissioned a fundamental review of the reasons behind its on-going poor performance and have sought to identify a future vision which would result in the creation of a sustainable commercial product that would add considerable value to the City, and complement existing retail provision in this area. 2.4 They consider that the problems fall into the following categories: i) The Triangle’s original proposition, following the bomb, was as a ‘quality’ retail destination. The study has concluded that the centre has experienced a succession of problems from its opening time in 2000. It was anticipated that the opening of Selfridges, Harvey Nicholls, New Cathedral Street and the extensions/refurbishment of the Arndale would reinforce its position as a quality retail destination. However, it appears that this has had the opposite effect and the Triangle has failed to attract and sustain the brands and right mix of offer required to make it a retail attraction. ii) The Triangle’s detachment in functional terms has been exacerbated by the nature and structure of the public realm in this area. They believe that the position of the Manchester Wheel, the landscaping to Exchange Square relative to both the Arndale Centre and Selfridges, and the route leading from New Cathedral Street all reinforce the physical dislocation of the building. iii) The Triangle to some extent marks the edge of the retail offer in the city centre, and so the issues of severance are amplified further. iv) The Triangle is largely impenetrable with poor accessibility and weak entrances which do not encourage or invite people in or to move through it to connect to other adjoining attractions/facilities. v) The configuration of the units has never lent itself to the demands of mass market multiple retailers or larger independents. vi) It is insular and inward looking with limited activity around its three sides. 2.5 Officers believe that the single biggest constraint to the performance of the building has been a consistent lack of clarity in its positioning within the city centre retail offer, which has manifested itself with a mix of uses which fail to provide an integrated offer of sufficient scale to drive footfall and consumer demand. This can be compared to the success of the extension to the Arndale across the road which has come on-stream after the re-developed Corn Exchange which has resulted in footfall being dramatically increased. Previous strategies have failed to address these issues largely because of changes in ownership of the Corn Exchange at crucial stages in its development. 3. A New Vision Manchester City Council Item 20 Executive 26 October 2011 3.1 It is within this context that the owners have sought to develop a new vision. The Triangle has had some commercial success and in particular has been a good location for cafes and restaurants. Whilst the building does not lend itself to the occupational requirements of large retailers, its unique ambience and environment provides an ideal platform for destination, niche and independent retailing. A new vision has therefore been developed based on expanding and strengthening the food service provision and creating a niche retailing destination based around high quality independent operators who are not currently represented in the City. 3.2 The appearance of the building, its inward looking nature and the manner in which it is accessed has also had a negative impact on its performance. The owners believe this has been compounded by the manner in which the public realm has been designed and managed, particularly around Exchange Square. They therefore believe that changes are required in the public realm to address these issues. 3.3 The two functions of fine dining and independent retailing could provide a truly differentiated offer for the Corn Exchange that would create a special destination, providing Manchester city centre with a new and highly individual attraction.