The First Twelve Months

Following the attack on 15 June 1996 it was estimated that up to 50,000 square metres of retail space and nearly 25,000 square metres of office space needed to be reconstructed.

Whilst much of the city centre reopened twelve months after the attack, the immediate area surrounding the blast site, including parts of the Arndale Centre, the Corn Exchange, the Royal Exchange, Royal Insurance's Longridge House and Marks and Spencer's remained cordoned off and a considerable amount of demolition had to take place. Marks & Spencer's store, was totally demolished, along with the Royal Insurance Building. Both stores were cleared by mid-1997.

Funding and Delivery

Central government quickly set aside £1million of European Union finance and set in place a master plan for the redevelopment of the City Centre. £150,000 was also provided to support an international urban design competition, which was launched just one month after the bombing, and which provided a cohesive plan for rebuilding.

The reconstruction was overseen by the new City Centre Task Force, Millennium Manchester Organisation. The government allocated a further £20 million to Manchester from the European Union regional aid budget for 1997-99.

Four Years Later

By the end of the 20th Century the whole area of the devastation zone had been completely restored. The Royal Exchange was renovated, the Corn Exchange was reborn as the Triangle (opened in August 2000), and the whole north side of the Arndale Centre was rebuilt (2004). Shambles Square including the Old Wellington Inn and Sinclair's Oyster Bar - the two oldest buildings in the city of Manchester - were physically moved some 100 yards to a new Shambles Square location off Exchange Square and opposite Marks and Spencer.

Finally, Marks and Spencer have rebuilt completely on the original site, the largest M&S store in the world. The store opened on 25 November 1999.

21st Century

As the new millenium took shape, fantastic new buildings began to appear on Manchester's city scape. 2002 saw the completion of the Urbis Centre along with 1 Deansgate, both of which were designed by Ian Simpson Architects. The development of Spinningfields began in earnest in 2001. There will be a total of 20 buildings within the area, spread over 6 acres (24,000 m2), and their construction status varies; as of 2008 many of the buildings are completed, others are still under construction, whilst yet other buildings are still in the planning stages. The developers are Allied London.

And - of course - Beetham Tower. 48 storeys tall with the Hilton Hotel and Cloud 23.

A host of exciting new developments remain in the pipeline. This includes the 'Origin' development by West Properties on Princess Street / Whitworth Street, the redevelopment of the Renaissance Hotel - also by West Properties - and the completion of Spinningfields.