The Heart of MediaCityUK

MediaCityUK in Salford Quays is, without doubt, the most exciting development in the UK. Back in 2006 the concept of a dedicated district for the media industry was born out of the BBC’s plan to move five of their London based departments to a site in the North of England.

The concept of a media city already existed in Dubai and Singapore and the incredibly ambitious plan was designed to place Greater Manchester on the world stage as a media hub encompassing television, film, computer gaming, music, software design and other creative industries in direct competition with those other locations.

The Peel Group, the owners of the land at Salford Quays, formed Peel Media and, together with public bodies such as the soon to be axed NWDA, are spending some £500 million developing the first phase of MediaCityUK stretching across thirty six acres beside the River Irwell.

The concept is a community of media companies and institutions in a custom built development that will house offices, studios and residential accommodation amidst a twenty first century technological infrastructure.

The BBC have recently been handed the keys to their new building and are fitting it out for occupancy in the autumn. The University of Salford is moving their media department there serving some eight hundred students. The wonderfully named Pie Factory already houses fifteen media related businesses.

A big part of the MediaCityUK concept is that people in the media should actually live as well as work there. Phase 1 has two apartment blocks, The Heart and NumberOne. To emphasise MediaCityUK’s waterside location Peel ferried us in on a river boat.

There is a selection of studios and one, two and three bedroom apartments available, either to rent or buy. The show apartments on the 19th floor boast spectacular views across the region. Prices start at £109,950 to buy and £550 per month to rent.

Access to MediaCityUK really couldn’t be much better. Not only will it have its own Metro tram stop in a few weeks but there is also a dedicated spur being built from the M602 motorway. All you need then is a canoe and you’ve got it all covered. Or maybe those WAXIS (Confidential broke this story click here) will be up and running within the next couple of years.

Communications technology is very much at the heart of MediaCityUK with a core dedicated connectivity built specifically for the media industry wired into the business spaces.

Peel also claim that their apartments have the fastest residential broadband speeds in the UK. Though their availability of up to 100 Mb speeds is certainly impressive this claim isn’t entirely accurate.

Over the Pennines in Leeds, a Leeds based mini-telco, AQL, has installed fibre throughout the Calls district giving 100 Mb speeds not only in Leeds own media hub, 46 The Calls, but also in residential apartments in the Dock Street area. So it’s a cross-Pennine speed tie.

Fronting the MediaCityUK residential blocks is a five acre public space that will hold 5,000 people and be used for events and markets.

A project like this was brave even back in the boom period when it was first conceived but Peel can only be commended for keeping their nerve in the current economic climate.

Last weekend was the official launch of the show apartments but a substantial number of the apartments are already occupied. With several hundred BBC staff heading here from London in the autumn, the MediaCityUK residential developments already look like a success story.

My only niggle with the apartments is that they might have been a little more generous in their proportions, particularly given the vast tracts of land owned by Peel.

Still, if you’re moving from an expensive broom closet in London you’ll probably be delighted at the space that your old rent in the capital will get you here. Add that to a whole city full of meedja folk and no commuting and you’ve got a luvvies’ paradise.

To book a show around or for other enquiries, click here.