It was on 15 June 1996 that a bomb was placed on Corporation Street, in Manchester city centre, by the IRA (Irish Republican Army), targeting the city’s commercial property infrastructure and economy. The damage caused by the blast was estimated by insurers to be in the region of £700 million, with roughly 200,000 sqft of retail space and 300,000 sqft of office space destroyed.
Fifteen years on Manchester has undergone significant redevelopment as a consequence of the bomb and the anger, apparent in the immediate years after the blast, appears to be fading. The Manchester Evening News, last week led with the headline: ‘How The Bomb Changed The City For The Good.’
The article goes on to state how commercial property in Britain’s first industrial city was dated and how the post war modernisation of the city was maladroit and of poor quality. ‘But the blast was the catalyst for a huge acceleration’ in the regeneration process, wrote the Manchester Evening News.
Those who were present in the city the day the bomb was detonated are keen to point out that no amount of new commercial property, can make up for the sheer panic and fear experienced that day.
However, it cannot be denied that, as the Manchester Evening News puts it, ‘although the bomb was one of Manchester’s darkest hours, it did at least provide something of a blank canvas for the city’s planners – and gave town hall’s chiefs the impetus to change the face of Manchester forever.’
Brand new commercial property landmarks, such as the Printworks, Urbis and No1 Deansgate, rose from the ashes of the bomb and have led a commercial property revolution in the city.
The Manchester Evening News stated last week: ‘Manchester has grown and has become truly cosmopolitan. It can rightly lay claim to being England’s second city. Its success is a tribute to the ingenuity of the city’s leaders and the resolute Mancunians who refused to be beaten.’
Previous Post
Local Elections Slow Commercial Property Developments
