Manchester's hated Piccadilly wall is set to be demolished for good in a £10m overhaul - finally ridding the city of its most hated landmark.

Landowners Legal & General and the council today revealed plans to replace the controversial concrete ‘Japanese Pavilion’, built in 2002 when Piccadilly Gardens was last radically changed, with a new row of bars and restaurants.

The proposals follow repeated calls by the M.E.N. over the last few years to fix up the gardens and knock down the wall, including a 20,000-signature petition presented to the council six months ago.

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Council bosses and L&G intend to raise up the existing grassed area and extend it, separate off the popular children’s playground with flowers and shrubs to help protect it, re-lay the footpaths, plant more trees and install extra lighting.

A new flint, wood and glass-fronted row of restaurants with a green roof, terrace bar and central walkway through to the bus station would replace the concrete landmark compared by many over the years to the Berlin Wall.

The smaller wall on the Moseley Street side of the gardens would make way for more grass, shrubs and flowers, while extra seating is planned for around the plaza.

(Image: RUPERTBARKER PHOTOGRAPHER)

Two new electronic advertising screens - one in the central thoroughfare through the two buildings and the other on the end, facing Moseley Street - are intended to bring in £50,000 a year for the council, which it would then plough back into maintenance of the gardens, increasing the current upkeep budget by 50pc.

The overhaul - mostly paid for by pension fund L&G, which has a long-term lease on the wall and owns much of the property around it - would be complete by the start of 2019 under the proposals.

To fund the project, L&G would lease a slightly bigger footprint than it has for the current wall, paying the council £1.3m, although it would not build onto any of the grassed space. That cash would then be ploughed back into upgrading the public space.

(Image: RupertBarker Photographer)

L&G intends to invest an extra £700,000 into improving the gardens itself - bringing the pot to £2m - while also spending £8m on overhauling the wall itself.

It intends to attract four family-focused restaurants into the ground floor of the new buildings, plus a bar on the first floor with a roof terrace.

Council leader Sir Richard Leese, one of the Japanese-designed wall’s few cheerleaders, said the plaza remained - despite its problems - extremely popular.

“For all the debate it has generated in recent years, Piccadilly Gardens remains an incredibly well-used public space,” he said.

“But we recognise that there are aspects which have proved unpopular and others where there is scope for improvement, including design improvements to deter anti-social behaviour and enhancing our own ongoing maintenance of the space.

“These proposals will provide both real and sustainable improvements which are compatible with Piccadilly Gardens’ role as a major thoroughfare used by hundreds of thousands of people a week as well as a destination where people can meet and relax.

“We believe the scheme which L&G have brought forward following detailed discussions with the council is a constructive response to all these considerations but are keen to engage with the public to get their thoughts on the proposals.”

Greater Manchester Police have been consulted on the proposals, including the safety aspects.

Those behind the project - which has been drawn up by architects Urban Edge and landscapers LDA - say its design will improve the ‘natural surveillance’ of an area that can feel closed off, particularly at night, and mean the bus station would no longer just be faced with a blank wall.

In pictures: Piccadilly Gardens through the years

Bill Hughes, head of real assets at L&G investment management, said: “We see the partnership with Manchester city council and the proposal for Piccadilly Gardens as an opportunity to regenerate a prominent and well-used space in central Manchester that is also a thoroughfare to other parts of the city.

“Under the proposals L&G will dedicate £2m worth of investment in improvements to Piccadilly Gardens to make them more attractive and welcoming to families while deterring anti-social behaviour.

“The proposed Pavilion design will bring a new vibrancy and economy to Piccadilly Gardens which we hope residents can be proud of and visitors to Manchester will see as a destination in its own right.

“L&G has a longstanding track record of working with progressive local authorities to bring forward regeneration and improvements to social infrastructure projects. We see Piccadilly Gardens as a prime example of this kind of collaboration in action.”

The wall was built in 2002 as part of the last radical overhaul of the gardens and swiftly became one of Manchester’s most unpopular landmarks.

Intended to create a barrier between the noise and pollution of the bus station and the gardens themselves, its brutalist concrete aesthetic prompted comparisons to Eastern Europe and became as unpopular within Manchester town hall as it was with the public - but until recently the council leadership stood firm.

However after L&G agreed to buy its 200-year lease two years ago, along with the One Piccadilly building, discussions began on potential investment in the overall area.

When the M.E.N. launched a petition in March this year demanding action be taken to improve the area, which has suffered rising levels of drug-taking and anti-social behaviour, 20,000 people signed up in 48 hours.

"Only this week the faces of jailed drug pushers caught dealing in Piccadilly Gardens have been emblazoned on a huge screen as part of a police crackdown. A total of 44 have now been jailed as part of Operation Mandera.