List of tallest buildings and structures in Manchester

This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Greater Manchester ranks buildings in Greater Manchester by height.

, Greater Manchester has sixteen towers completed at a height of 100 metres or more and a further eleven towers above 100 metres under construction. This is the largest number of high-rises in any metropolitan area in the United Kingdom outside Greater London.

History and future development

The first proposed skyscraper in Central Manchester was the 110 metre (361 ft) Quay Street Tower. Envisioned to be completed in 1948, it would have been the tallest tower in Europe. The proposal was rejected and said to be inconsiderate, as much of the city was still rebuilding after the Manchester Blitz of the Second World War.

The first tall building boom in Greater Manchester occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, with notable buildings including the 118 metre (387 ft) CIS Tower, which became the tallest building in the United Kingdom when constructed in 1962 and the 123 metre (404 ft) City Tower.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, few significant proposals came to fruition. However, there has been a renewed interest in skyscrapers in Manchester in the 21st century, with a number of proposals being brought forward. In 2006, Beetham Tower became the tallest building in the United Kingdom outside London and the first to reach a height of over 150 metres, making it also the first official skyscraper outside London. In 2018, Deansgate Square South Tower became the only skyscraper in the United Kingdom outside London to reach a height of over 200 metres.

Unlike most major cities in the United Kingdom, there are no height restrictions and local planning officers generally adopt a laissez-faire attitude towards city centre high rises in Manchester. If all future proposals come to fruition, Greater Manchester could contain well over 300 buildings over 50 metres tall, as well as over 50 high rises above 100 metres and 16 skyscrapers above 150 metres.

Central Manchester is the predominant location for tall proposals, with 38 buildings over 100 metres either built, under construction or proposed, along with a further 13 being built, under construction or proposed in Salford, immediately to the west of Central Manchester.

Castlefield (18), which contains the Trinity Islands and Deansgate Square skyscraper developments, and Greengate (8) are the two areas with the biggest collection of skyscrapers in Greater Manchester either built, under construction or proposed over 100 metres tall. Both areas are part of wider masterplans to expand Central Manchester and Salford out southwards and westwards respectively, with amenities such as new green areas and schools to enable urban living.

However, these are not the only new areas of Central Manchester undergoing significant development. The northern side of the city contains a number of office and residential developments either completed or currently under construction as part of the £800 million NOMA development. Significant completed projects within NOMA already delivered including the iconic One Angel Square, a modern zero carbon emissions energy-plus building and the 108 metre Angel Gardens residential tower. These buildings will be joined by the Angel Meadow development, which will deliver three new residential towers including the 128 metre Angel Meadow Park and Angel Square office towers, the Gas Works development which will deliver five towers, the tallest of which will reach 107 metres, as well as the Victoria Residence development which will also deliver three new residential towers, the tallest of which will reach 119 metres.

The southern side of Central Manchester is being expanded into the Chorlton-on-Medlock inner city suburb by the Circle Square development, which will deliver a mix of office and residential towers as well as new green spaces. In 2020, 1 Circle Square residential tower and the 118 metre Affinity Living Circle Square residential tower became the first towers to be completed within the scheme.

Aside from the above developments, the largest future development areas of Central Manchester through the 2020s will be the new area of St John's in the western side of Central Manchester adjacent to Spinningfields and the £1.2 billion Mayfield scheme around Piccadilly station in the east side of Central Manchester. St John's will deliver new cultural, office and residential developments including The Factory, a new inner city theatre, the 115 metre Northlight office tower, the 113 metre Union Living office tower and a 108 metre Vita tower.

Over the next 10 years, the Mayfield masterplan will play a key role in further expanding Central Manchester out eastwards, delivering a large new central park area among a large number of new office and residential towers with a number expected to be over 150 metres in height.

Further into the future, Piccadilly is expected to become an area of intense development into the 2030s when HS2 is due to become operational in Central Manchester. Large office and residential tower proposals are expected as part of the development.

List: Completed structures

This list ranks structurally complete buildings and free-standing structures in Greater Manchester that stand at least , based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts.

An equals sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed. Buildings that have been demolished are not included.

Completed

List: Under construction

Under construction

This lists buildings that are under construction in Greater Manchester and are planned to rise at least . Under construction buildings that have already been topped out are listed above.

Approved

This lists buildings that are approved for construction in Greater Manchester and are planned to rise at least . If approved projects do not start construction within five years of their approval date they are assumed to be no longer active and considered 'unbuilt' unless further information is available.

Proposed

This lists buildings that are proposed for construction in Greater Manchester and are planned to rise at least . If proposed projects are not approved within five years of their proposal date they are assumed to be no longer active and considered 'unbuilt' unless further information is available.

List: Unbuilt

Unbuilt

This lists proposals for the construction of buildings in Greater Manchester that were planned to rise at least , for which planning permission was rejected or which were otherwise withdrawn.

Demolished

This lists buildings in Greater Manchester that were at least 50 metres (164 ft) and have since been demolished.

Timeline

Timeline of tallest buildings and structures

After a period after the 1960s building boom where few new significant buildings were built in Greater Manchester, the early 21st century has seen a long list of proposals meaning the skyline has been transformed in recent decades. The first towers over 100 metres were the CIS Tower and the City Tower, the latter of which kept the title of tallest building in Greater Manchester for 41 years until the Beetham Tower was completed in 2006. In 2018 Deansgate Square South Tower became the tallest building in Greater Manchester and the tallest in the United Kingdom outside London.

Future tallest

This lists the top 20 buildings in order of height in Greater Manchester that are either completed, under construction, approved or proposed. The imminent transformation of the Manchester skyline is made clear with only five of the top 20 already constructed, with five under construction, eight approved and two proposed.

Maps and Gallery

See also

* List of tallest buildings and structures in Salford
* List of tallest buildings in the United Kingdom
* List of tallest buildings in Europe
* List of tallest buildings

References

External links

{{Portal bar, Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester
Tallest