Plans are beginning to take shape to turn a landmark building in Manchester’s NOMA neighbourhood into a beautiful new hotel.
New Century House – the Grade II-listed, 14-storey tower next to New Century Hall – could be transformed into a 196-bedroom luxury hotel.
And if it all goes ahead as planned, that might mean a new rooftop restaurant and bar.
The huge 1960s building has a classic modernist design and is a familiar sight in the Manchester city centre skyline.
Now MEPC, the Development and Asset Manager for the NOMA estate, is working with hotel and leisure specialist practice Jenics to secure a hotel partner to see the plans brought to life.
The former Co-operative Insurance Society, later The Co-operative Group, could be transformed into an hotel with views across the city.
The proposals at this stage include restaurant and bar spaces, plus conference and leisure facilities.
It would be at the heart of the NOMA neighbourhood, just a stone’s throw from the AO Arena, Manchester Victoria, and all the local businesses that have sprung up, from The Sadler’s Cat pub to the reborn New Century Hall music venue and food hall.
Plans for the new hotel include a sky-high restaurant space. Credit: NOMAThe new hotel would have great views of Manchester. Credit: NOMA
The area is also home to the already-acclaimed and Michelin-recommended Skof restaurant.
NOMA is already home to businesses including Amazon, The Co-operative Group, ath-leisure brand Adanola, Material Source, and Arcadis IBI Group.
Once a hotel partner is secured, MEPC and Jenics will submit a formal planning proposal to Manchester City Council.
Dan Hyde, development director at MEPC, developer and asset manager at NOMA said: “New Century House is a Manchester landmark and we believe now is the right time to bring it back to life as a hotel.
New Century House is a landmark in NOMA. Credit: NOMAThe building could become a hotel. Credit: NOMA
“It’s a natural next step for our growing neighbourhood with the building located either side of BNY at 4 Angel Square and the destination venue of New Century Hall.”
Jeremy Collins of Jenics added: “Manchester has huge international visitor pull thanks to its global connectivity, world-leading universities and sporting and cultural assets.
“New Century House is a rare and outstanding opportunity and will be a tremendous addition to Manchester’s visitor economy offer, both from a business and leisure perspective.
“NOMA has adopted a flexible approach to secure a ‘best fit’ occupier by way of either a virtual freehold sale or lease disposal. This approach will drive positive interest from a range of operators.”
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way to close for resurfacing
Emily Sergeant
Mancunian Way is set to close for resurfacing works next month.
As Manchester City Council looks to ‘improve’ what is, by far, one of Manchester’s busiest and most-used roads, given the fact it is the main thoroughfare in and out of the city centre, it has been confirmed that Mancunian Way is due to undergo crucial resurfacing works.
With an estimated 15 million journeys taken along this road annually, the Council says it’s vital that necessary maintenance is carried out to keep traffic flowing.
As a result, plans are now in place to resurface Mancunian Way overnight during a four-week period, beginning from next Monday (3 March)
The resurfacing work will be split into two sections, starting with the eastbound carriageway from River Street to Fairfield Street, before moving on to the westbound lane from Fairfield Street to Upper Brook Street.
Work along the eastbound section – in the direction of Ashton Old Road – will run between Monday 3 March to Friday 14 March, with the operating hours being between 7pm and 5am, during which the carriageway will be fully closed, while the westbound carriage in the direction of Regent Road will take place overnight between Monday 17 March until Friday 28 March, with closures at the same time.
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way will be close for resurfacing next month / Credit: Pixabay
Due to events taking place during this period of works, slightly later road closures will be in place from 7:30pm on the 7, 10 and 14 of March during the eastbound section, and on 19 March during the westbound secion.
No work will take place Europa League fixture dates, or on Saturday or Sunday nights either.
“These works are taking place overnight to mitigate any potential disruption,” explained Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“But as always, we would encourage people to plan their journeys ahead of time and allow more time to travel if they need to go via the Mancunian Way.”
Signed diversions will be in place during the course of the works, and details of this can be found on the Council’s dedicated webpage here.
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Travel & Tourism
Life-saving defibrillators to be installed on dozens of trains travelling through Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Life-saving defibrillators are set to be installed on dozens of trains travelling through Greater Manchester.
Rail operator TransPennine Express (TPE) has started work to install the units on all 51 of its Class 185 trains over the next two months, and can be used by both staff and passengers if someone goes into cardiac arrest.
The defibrillators will be fitted by technology company Siemens Mobility, and will be located in an emergency equipment cupboard in the middle of the train.
Every defibrillator being installed on the trains has step-by-step, spoken word instructions built in to them, which explain how to use on someone in an emergency, so passengers and staff need not panic if they’re unsure what to do.
Computers inside the defibrillators will work to analyse a person’s heart rhythms to find out if an electric shock is needed, and if required, electrodes then automatically deliver the shock.
⚡Work has started to fit defibrillators across more than 50 TransPennine Express trains
🚆 The life-saving units will be installed on all 51 of our Class 185 trains by the end of March
The defibrillators – which are already installed on TPE’s Nova 1 trains – have been purchased from the British Heart Foundation charity, which is the biggest independent funder of heart and circulatory research in the UK.
The news that the defibrillators are being installed on trains travelling through Greater Manchester and across the UK come after it was announced back in 2023 that the machines were being installed at more than 100 Northern stations to help save people in cardiac arrest.
Speaking on the installing of the defibrillators on trains, Bushra Khan, who is the Head of Engineering at TransPennine Express, said: “Our defibrillators are a huge benefit to both our customers and the communities we serve.
“This rollout will ensure that people travelling on our services will feel safe and confident that defibrillators are available to help in the event of an emergency, potentially saving lives.”
Daisy Jackson -
27th September 2024 
