Bomb site set to be redeveloped

The council says the current building "detracts" from the area

A prime area of Manchester city centre which was damaged by the IRA bombing 12 years ago is to be transformed.

A two-acre area around the 1970s-built Ramada hotel at the north end of Deansgate is to be redeveloped.

Manchester City Council said the current site "detracts from the setting of the cathedral and the city's medieval core".

The work would create two new streets and provide office accommodation, apartments and a new hotel.

The council said the "hotel and the complex's other buildings also fail to connect well with the River Irwell".

A new series of pedestrian terraces incorporating restaurants and new public areas along the river linking the listed Victoria and Blackfriars Bridges would be created.

'Exciting' development

Although most of the areas around the 1996 bombing site have been redeveloped, the Ramada area remains largely unchanged.

Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese said: "The Ramada Complex represents one of the most exciting redevelopment opportunities in the city centre.

"It is the final piece of the vision established to guide the redevelopment of the area of the city damaged by the 1996 bomb to be realised.

"One of the strengths of the renaissance of the city centre has been the master-planning which has ensured quality and co-ordination."