Manchester city centre

For Manchester City Centre electoral ward, see City Centre (ward).

Manchester City Centre
Central Business District
Skyline of Manchester city centre
Manchester City Centre is located in Greater Manchester
Manchester City Centre
Manchester City Centre
Location within Greater Manchester
Population17,861 (2011)
OS grid referenceSJ839980
• London163 mi (262 km) SE
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMANCHESTER
Postcode districtM1, M2, M3, M4
Dialling code0161
PoliceGreater Manchester
FireGreater Manchester
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Greater Manchester
53°28′51″N 2°14′33″W / 53.48083°N 2.24250°W / 53.48083; -2.24250

Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road.[1][2] The City Centre ward had a population of 17,861 at the 2011 census.[3]

Manchester city centre evolved from the civilian vicus of the Roman fort of Mamucium, on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell.[4] This became the township of Manchester during the Middle Ages, and was the site of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819.[5] Manchester was granted city status in 1853, after the Industrial Revolution, from which the city centre emerged as the global centre of the cotton trade which encouraged its "splendidly imposing commercial architecture" during the Victorian era,[6] such as the Royal Exchange, the Corn Exchange, the Free Trade Hall, and the Great Northern Warehouse.[5] After the decline of the cotton trade and the Manchester Blitz, the city centre suffered economic decline during the mid-20th century,[7] but the CIS Tower ranked as the tallest building in the UK when completed in 1962.[8]

The city centre acts as the transport interchange for Greater Manchester and over 7 million people live within an hour's drive of it. The 1996 Manchester bombing provided the impetus for the redevelopment of the city centre[9] and an upturn in retail, leisure, offices and urban living.[10][11][12] The economy of the city centre is built primarily on retail and services, accounting for nearly 40% of Grade-A city centre office space outside London.[13][14]

  1. ^ "Manchester City Centre Office Market Report" (PDF). GVA Grimley. Spring 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Visit Manchester – Manchester city centre map" (PDF). visitmanchester.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  3. ^ "City of Manchester Ward population 2011". Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  4. ^ Gregory 2007, pp. 1–3.
  5. ^ a b "Industrial heritage in the Manchester region". International Congress of History of Science, Technology and Medicine. 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  6. ^ "City Centre". spinningtheweb.org.uk. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  7. ^ Kellie 2010, p. 26.
  8. ^ "Green light for high living". BBC News. 27 October 2003. Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  9. ^ Kellie 2010, pp. 56–61.
  10. ^ Ravetz 2000, p. 50.
  11. ^ Kellie 2010, pp. 142, 153.
  12. ^ "The rush to turn offices into flats". BBC News. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Manchester and Leeds: Could they rival London?". BBC News. 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  14. ^ "Rate of take-up on Manchester city centre offices doubles as economy reaches pre-recession point". mancunianmatters.co.uk. 23 November 2014. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2014.