Initial plans for a huge new park opposite Piccadilly station are set to be signed off next week.

Manchester council’s vision for the industrial area around Mayfield - on the edge of Ardwick - will see a 6.5-acre swathe of new green space created alongside thousands of homes, new hotels and better walking routes.

It would build the city centre’s new park in more than a century, including restored pathways and footbridges over an opened-up river.

A public consultation has welcomed the proposals, drawn up by the council in conjunction with developer U+I, in particular the new park and plans to retain the area’s historic railway arches.

Manchester council says the new district - which will be split into six zones - will be a ‘world-class, ‘transformative’, distinctive and imaginative commercially-led mixed-use neighbourhood’ that takes advantage of the River Medlock and former transport depot at its heart.

More than 2,000 people were sent letters as part of the consultation process, while other members of the public also attended a drop-in to look at the plans earlier in the year.

The vast majority of responses were overwhelmingly positive, according to a report going before council bosses next week, which says people were particularly supportive of the plans for a brand new park.

Requests were made for the space to be as large as possible, while the cleaning up and use of the river, a planned new ‘play island’ and lawn were all welcomed, although the need for it to be properly maintained was also raised.

A number of candidates in the local election also responded, stressing that some of the new housing planned - including taller buildings around the border with the Mancunian Way - should be affordable.

In response the council said it would consider individual planning applications on a ‘case by case basis’ under its broader housing policy, without committing to any specific number of affordable units.

Requests were also made by several people for more focus on better pedestrian links to Ardwick, which the council has now incorporated into the masterplan.

The vision - officially called the Mayfield strategic regeneration framework - will go before council bosses for sign-off on Wednesday.

James Heather, development director at U+I, said earlier: “We are very pleased to have reached the stage where we can put our proposed vision of a new Mayfield before the people of the city.

“In the 12 months or so since we were appointed as development partners, we’ve found a huge interest in the site from the public and this is their opportunity to respond and to tell us what they think of our plans.

“This is a key moment in the next chapter for Mayfield and we are sure the people of the city will be interested to see how far we’ve come.”

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