Greater Manchester’s skyscraper race took another turn on Friday (October 18) after one of the key players announced a major shake-up of its scheme.
Over the past eighteen months, big names in the property world have been jostling to take the crown of the city-region’s tallest building — and the UK’s highest outside of London. Giant developers like Renaker, Salboy, and Henley have thrown millions of pounds behind their schemes.
Of course, only one can be the tallest. But if they’re quick, they could temporarily take the coveted title.
In doing so, the city’s skyline will only grow. It doesn’t matter who wins — all of them will push Greater Manchester’s highest point well past the previous limit of 200 metres.
Ultimately, it’s expected to reach 273m — just shy of The Shard in London, Britain’s biggest; larger than anything in Canary Wharf.
However, to understand just how much Greater Manchester will grow up, one needs to examine how far it’s come. Here, the LDRS answers key questions about Greater Manchester’s skyscraper history.
What was Greater Manchester’s first skyscraper?
Arguably Greater Manchester’s first true skyscraper was the CIS Tower, which was built in 1962. It was the city-region’s first tall building which wasn’t a church spire, university, or municipal structure.
And at 118m, it was Britain’s tallest in 1962 and 1963, before the Millbank Tower was completed in Westminster. The UK title for tallest building has stayed in London ever since.
Now grade-II listed, it kept its regional title from the sixties for 44 years, well into the new millennium. But such has been the pace of development in Greater Manchester, in the 18 years since it lost its crown the CIS Tower has fallen to be its 15th-tallest building.
When was Beetham Tower built?
Beetham Tower took the Greater Manchester top spot from the CIS Tower when it opened in 2006. Designed by Ian Simpson, it’s 169m tall thanks to its glass ‘overrun’, the slither of silver which sticks out above the roof — itself 158m off the ground.
It’s a mixture of flats and hotel rooms. Cloud 23 bar — on the 23rd storey — is the highest level of the Hilton Hotel, and is where the building’s ‘chin’ starts to stick out.
Above this point, there are flats, and some are Manchester’s most expensive places to live.
But Beetham Tower isn’t the city’s tallest anymore.
How did Beetham Tower lose its crown?
Beetham Tower held the title until 2018, when Renaker put together the Deansgate Square complex with four towers — named north, south, east, west.
The apartment blocks have a range of amenities inside, and a square where there are bars and restaurants. It’s the south tower which is the biggest sibling, at 201m tall.
However, it looks like the south tower won’t be the tallest for much longer. But Renaker might retain the crown.
Who is vying for the title now?
As mentioned, Renaker, Salboy, and Henley are each developing a project they hope will become Greater Manchester’s tallest building – with three applications currently in the works.
Renaker’s effort is called ‘Plot D’, and features a ‘lantern’ design the company hopes will become the new symbol of the second city. At 213m, it would be the smallest of the proposed trio. But there is hope for Renaker, as it has planning permission — something the others currently don’t.
That means Renaker can get on and build it, which means it might be finished before the other two, and therefore take the title, even only temporarily.
Salboy’s plans for a 76-storey tower next to the Manchester Central convention centre look set to be at least 25m taller than Plot D. Its scheme, called Viadux 2a, originally had 780 flats inside.
However, this project has been altered this week to now include a hotel, at the expense of a retail unit. It’s unknown if the number of flats will change.
Salboy has confirmed the height will stay the same, but it now needs to change its planning application, which could set the completion date back. At 241m, it will be Manchester’s tallest building.
But it’s not going to be Greater Manchester’s tallest building for very long, if all the plans are approved. That’s because Henley has plans to build a 273m-tall tower in Salford.
It will be one of six new towers to come to Regent Road, along with a new ‘centre’ for that part of the city. It doesn’t have planning permission yet, but Salford council has named a target decision date of November 4 — so one might know soon if it’s a goer.
Where will the tallest in Greater Manchester be?
Unless there’s an unexpected development, Henley’s plans in Salford, to go on the Regent Road retail park will be Greater Manchester’s tallest.
In the city of Manchester, Viadux will win out eventually, barring the unexpected. But Renaker has a head-start, so its Plot D project might be the next tallest building after Deansgate Square.
The race is truly on.
