Manchester Piccadilly Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) Update

The Manchester Piccadilly area (the 'study area') is of national strategic significance, serving as a major gateway to Manchester city centre and the Greater Manchester city region and beyond. Anchored by Piccadilly Station, the district is set to evolve into a world-class, highly productive, and connected destination.

Manchester Piccadilly station serves as a central transport hub for the city, and is at the centre of the planned Northern Powerhouse Rail ('NPR') network. Manchester City Council ('the Council') strongly believes that the optimal solution for the proposed NPR station at Manchester Piccadilly is for an underground through station, which would unlock the full potential of the study area, maximising transport connectivity and the long-term economic and social benefits of investment.

The Council is seeking to appoint a consultancy team to provide a SRF for the study area (building upon the previous Manchester Piccadilly SRF), based around the anticipated growth opportunity and connectivity benefits provided by the NPR and other investment proposals, aligned with the Council's ambitions and policies. This work should review, and incorporate existing, and update new regeneration areas within the study area.

While the study will concentrate on the 'Piccadilly Central' and the 'Ardwick' areas, a key aspect of this commission will be to integrate and harmonise the outputs of the Manchester Piccadilly SRF with those of the adjacent and related SRFs, to produce a coherent, comprehensive and integrated strategy, which can maximise economic and social benefits. Further information is provided in the Specification.

This Procurement is being conducted in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and Procurement Regulations 2024, using the Open Tender Procedure. The documentation published with this opportunity describes how the procurement will be conducted, including details of the associated procurement timetable and award criteria and how to respond to this opportunity.

Suppliers are strongly encouraged to read the documentation including the appendices and all other documentation published as part of this Invitation to Tender, as failure to comply with the information in the documentation may result in exclusion from the Procurement and/or the rejection of any submission. Manchester City Council invites tenders for the provision of the Services, from organisations with relevant experience and technical ability to demonstrate sufficient capacity for providing the Services.

It is intended for the contract to commence 18 January 2027. The estimated total value of the opportunity is £250,000 (including Work Packages 1-4) over the total contract period although Suppliers should note that this is only an estimate to give Suppliers an idea of the potential scale of the opportunity.

Bidders should ensure that their proposed team collectively possesses all relevant skills, qualifications, experience and resources necessary to deliver an adoptable Strategic Regeneration Framework, in line with the Specification. Where all required expertise is not held within a single organisation, bidders may wish to consider forming appropriate consortium, joint venture, or subcontracting arrangements.

Where a consortium, joint venture, or subcontracting arrangement is proposed, bidders should clearly identify the proposed structure, the role and responsibilities of each organisation, and how the combined team will provide the requisite expertise and capacity to successfully deliver the contract. It is envisaged that the contract will be awarded to one (1) lead provider or consortium.