Skyscrapers In Manchester
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This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Greater Manchester ranks buildings in
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
by height. , Greater Manchester has sixteen towers completed at a height of 100 metres or more and a further eleven towers above 100 metres under construction. This is the largest number of high-rises in any metropolitan area in the United Kingdom outside
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...
.


History and future development

The first proposed skyscraper in Central Manchester was the 110 metre (361 ft) Quay Street Tower. Envisioned to be completed in 1948, it would have been the tallest tower in Europe. The proposal was rejected and said to be inconsiderate, as much of the city was still rebuilding after the
Manchester Blitz The Manchester Blitz (also known as the Christmas Blitz) was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester and its surrounding areas in North West England during the Second World War by the German ''Luftwaffe''. It was one of three major raids on ...
of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The first tall building boom in Greater Manchester occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, with notable buildings including the 118 metre (387 ft)
CIS Tower The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. Designed for the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) by architects Gordon Tait and G. S. Hay, the building was completed in 1962 and rises to 118 m (387 feet) in h ...
, which became the tallest building in the United Kingdom when constructed in 1962 and the 123 metre (404 ft) City Tower. Through the 1980s and 1990s, few significant proposals came to fruition. However, there has been a renewed interest in skyscrapers in Manchester in the 21st century, with a number of proposals being brought forward. In 2006, Beetham Tower became the tallest building in the United Kingdom outside London and the first to reach a height of over 150 metres, making it also the first official
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
outside London. In 2018, Deansgate Square South Tower became the only skyscraper in the United Kingdom outside London to reach a height of over 200 metres. Unlike most major cities in the United Kingdom, there are no height restrictions and local planning officers generally adopt a laissez-faire attitude towards city centre high rises in Manchester. If all future proposals come to fruition, Greater Manchester could contain well over 300 buildings over 50 metres tall, as well as over 50 high rises above 100 metres and 16 skyscrapers above 150 metres. Central
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
is the predominant location for tall proposals, with 38 buildings over 100 metres either built, under construction or proposed, along with a further 13 being built, under construction or proposed in
Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
, immediately to the west of Central Manchester.
Castlefield Castlefield is an inner-city conservation area in Manchester, North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, A34 road, Quay Street, Deansgate and A56 road, Chester Road. It was the site of the Roma ...
(18), which contains the Trinity Islands and Deansgate Square skyscraper developments, and Greengate (8) are the two areas with the biggest collection of skyscrapers in Greater Manchester either built, under construction or proposed over 100 metres tall. Both areas are part of wider masterplans to expand Central Manchester and Salford out southwards and westwards respectively, with amenities such as new green areas and schools to enable urban living. However, these are not the only new areas of Central Manchester undergoing significant development. The northern side of the city contains a number of office and residential developments either completed or currently under construction as part of the £800 million
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development. Significant completed projects within NOMA already delivered including the iconic
One Angel Square One Angel Square is an office building in Manchester, England. Construction work began in 2010 and was completed in February 2013. The landmark building is the head office of the Co-operative Group. Standing 72.5 metres (237.8 feet) tall, the buil ...
, a modern zero carbon emissions energy-plus building and the 108 metre
Angel Gardens Angel Gardens is a 34-storey building of 466 rental apartments under construction in Manchester, England. It will form part of the NOMA redevelopment. In January 2017, the investor Apache Capital Partners and the developer Moda Living secured  ...
residential tower. These buildings will be joined by the Angel Meadow development, which will deliver three new residential towers including the 128 metre Angel Meadow Park and Angel Square office towers, the Gas Works development which will deliver five towers, the tallest of which will reach 107 metres, as well as the Victoria Residence development which will also deliver three new residential towers, the tallest of which will reach 119 metres. The southern side of Central Manchester is being expanded into the
Chorlton-on-Medlock Chorlton-on-Medlock or Chorlton-upon-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, Chorlton-on-Medlock is bordered to the north by the River Medlock, which runs immediately south of Manchester city centre. It ...
inner city suburb by the
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development, which will deliver a mix of office and residential towers as well as new green spaces. In 2020, 1 Circle Square residential tower and the 118 metre Affinity Living Circle Square residential tower became the first towers to be completed within the scheme. Aside from the above developments, the largest future development areas of Central Manchester through the 2020s will be the new area of St John's in the western side of Central Manchester adjacent to
Spinningfields Spinningfields is an area of Manchester city centre, in North West England, developed in the 2000s between Deansgate and the River Irwell by Allied London Properties. The £1.5 billion project consists of twenty new buildings, totalling approxima ...
and the £1.2 billion Mayfield scheme around Piccadilly station in the east side of Central Manchester. St John's will deliver new cultural, office and residential developments including The Factory, a new inner city theatre, the 115 metre Northlight office tower, the 113 metre Union Living office tower and a 108 metre Vita tower. Over the next 10 years, the Mayfield masterplan will play a key role in further expanding Central Manchester out eastwards, delivering a large new central park area among a large number of new office and residential towers with a number expected to be over 150 metres in height. Further into the future, Piccadilly is expected to become an area of intense development into the 2030s when
HS2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...
is due to become operational in Central Manchester. Large office and residential tower proposals are expected as part of the development.


List: Completed structures

This list ranks structurally complete buildings and free-standing structures in Greater Manchester that stand at least , based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed. Buildings that have been demolished are not included.


Completed


List: Under construction


Under construction

This lists buildings that are under construction in Greater Manchester and are planned to rise at least . Under construction buildings that have already been
topped out In building construction, topping out (sometimes referred to as topping off) is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. Nowadays, the ceremony is often parlaye ...
are listed above.


Approved

This lists buildings that are approved for construction in Greater Manchester and are planned to rise at least . If approved projects do not start construction within five years of their approval date they are assumed to be no longer active and considered 'unbuilt' unless further information is available.


Proposed

This lists buildings that are proposed for construction in Greater Manchester and are planned to rise at least . If proposed projects are not approved within five years of their proposal date they are assumed to be no longer active and considered 'unbuilt' unless further information is available.


List: Unbuilt


Unbuilt

This lists proposals for the construction of buildings in Greater Manchester that were planned to rise at least , for which planning permission was rejected or which were otherwise withdrawn.


Demolished

This lists buildings in Greater Manchester that were at least 50 metres (164 ft) and have since been demolished.


Timeline


Timeline of tallest buildings and structures

After a period after the 1960s building boom where few new significant buildings were built in Greater Manchester, the early 21st century has seen a long list of proposals meaning the skyline has been transformed in recent decades. The first towers over 100 metres were the
CIS Tower The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. Designed for the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) by architects Gordon Tait and G. S. Hay, the building was completed in 1962 and rises to 118 m (387 feet) in h ...
and the City Tower, the latter of which kept the title of tallest building in Greater Manchester for 41 years until the Beetham Tower was completed in 2006. In 2018 Deansgate Square South Tower became the tallest building in Greater Manchester and the tallest in the United Kingdom outside London.


Future tallest

This lists the top 20 buildings in order of height in Greater Manchester that are either completed, under construction, approved or proposed. The imminent transformation of the Manchester skyline is made clear with only five of the top 20 already constructed, with five under construction, eight approved and two proposed.


Maps and Gallery


See also

*
List of tallest buildings and structures in Salford This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Salford ranks buildings in the city and metropolitan borough of Salford by height. As of 2023, Salford has three towers completed at a height of or more and a further three towers above 1 ...
*
List of tallest buildings in the United Kingdom As of December 2022 there are 148 habitable buildings (used for living and working in, as opposed to masts and religious use) in the United Kingdom at least tall, 117 of them in London, 15 in Greater Manchester, 5 in Birmingham, 3 in Leeds, 2 ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Europe This list of tallest buildings in Europe ranks skyscrapers in Europe by height exceeding 190 meters. For decades, only a few major cities, such as Frankfurt, Paris, London and Moscow contained skyscrapers. In recent years, however, construction ...
*
List of tallest buildings This list of tallest buildings includes skyscrapers with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Nonbuilding structure, Non-building structures, such as towers, are not included in this list (for these, see ''List of tallest ...


References


External links

{{Portal bar, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
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