Plans to demolish Manchester’s hated Piccadilly Gardens wall have been SCRAPPED - more than 18 months after they were submitted to the council .

Pension fund Legal & General, which owns a 250-year lease on the concrete structure, has backtracked on original proposals to redevelop it into new restaurants.

The council now plans to put millions of its own money into improving the rest of the Piccadilly Gardens area - extending out as far as the surrounding shops - instead, but the main wall itself will remain for the foreseeable future.

Town hall bosses want to make it a ‘living wall’, covered in greenery, in order to improve its appearance.

Plans first emerged in 2016 for a major overhaul of Piccadilly Gardens after constant complaints from the public about the area and campaigning by the M.E.N.

Under those proposals, L&G would have bought up some of the plaza's unused hardstanding from the council, knocked down the main part of the wall - officially known as the Japanese Pavilion - and extended it into a new row of restaurants on a similar footprint.

The final designs were submitted to the planning department in July 2017.

(Image: RUPERTBARKER PHOTOGRAPHER)

Manchester council was going to use the money from the sale, along with some additional investment, to improve the next-door gardens.

However since then problems within the mid-market restaurant trade, which have seen a number of chains fold or close branches, have made L&G’s part of the vision unviable.

Despite the council and pension fund remaining locked in negotiations for months, ultimately L&G has now withdrawn its plans - although it has promised to help make ‘improvements’ to the wall.

Manchester council plans to spend millions on overhauling the wider area instead, acknowledging public discontent with its appearance.

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Council leader Sir Richard Leese said: “We know that people have strong views about the need for improvements to Piccadilly Gardens. Indeed after begging, the Gardens was the issue which was most raised in last year’s city centre review.

“We are determined to deliver those changes. While the scheme which was previously envisaged has not proved possible in its current form, it is not a case of back to square one. The work which was done on that scheme, and the public consultation which established broad support for the principles behind it, will help shape the revised scheme and give us a sound basis to move forwards.”

While the wall will now stay, Sir Richard said plans were underway to cover it in greenery - proposals first put forward by councillors nearly a decade ago - and for the smaller separate bit of the wall, which is owned directly by the town hall, to be demolished.

"As part of the council's proposals for the Gardens we are looking to see the appearance of the concrete wall to the pavilion improved and softened,” he said.

“The council's ambition to see it transformed into a green 'living wall' facing the bus and tram stations. We also propose to remove the free-standing part of the wall, which sits within our ownership."

Concerns over the state of Piccadilly Gardens have been rumbling for years, ranging from the unpopularity of the wall itself - including among councillors - to growing social problems and crime.

In 2016 the M.E.N. ran a campaign demanding major improvements, including the wall’s demolition, which led the council to confirm it would do so as part of a major overhaul.

Later that year designs for the plaza, including the wall, were unveiled.

They envisaged a new structure - a mixture of wood, slate and glass - replacing the concrete wall itself, with two storeys of restaurants and bars.

At the same time, Manchester council promised to invest in improving the surrounding gardens, which had become a magnet for drug use and anti-social behaviour.

With L&G now having cancelled its part of the vision, the council now plans to spend millions upgrading the rest of the area, extending up to the shops on all sides - although the bus station will stay, unless major plans to reform the bus network come forward at Greater Manchester level.

The council has not specified the exact amount it intends to outlay, but its latest capital budget, due to be agreed on Friday, references the need for spending on the Gardens.

It is understood the existing green space would be retained, along with the fountains, which have recently been extensively fixed.

New plans for the area are expected to surface in the summer, ahead of another public consultation.

Mark Russell, Senior Fund Manager at Legal & General said: “We are pleased that Manchester City Council will be bringing forward proposals that build upon our own ambitions for Piccadilly Gardens, and which will enhance the public realm.

“Legal & General will continue to work in close collaboration with the Council to deliver complementary improvements to the Pavilion, further adding to the existing amenity of the space.”