Looking south-east from Cheetham Hill Road

“captures some of the major change…particularly with the designation of NOMA”

We’re really missing the good weather for numerous reasons….one of them being to get good Flashback Friday photos!

The view this week is looking south-east from Cheetham Hill Road towards the Grade II listed CIS Tower and New Century Hall (designed by architects George S. Hay and Gordon Tait and completed in 1962).

The top photo was kindly provided by Steve Welsh and shows the view in 1993. Of particular note are the hoardings on the right and the Bovis signage as construction took place of the Nynex Arena (now of course the AO Arena).

The bottom photo was taken July 2026 and captures some of the major change that has taken place in this part of the city over the three decades - particularly with the designation of NOMA: a major mixed-use regeneration district on the northern edge of Manchester city centre, centred around Corporation Street, Angel Meadow, Victoria Station and the historic The Co-operative Bank plc estate.

On the left is the Peninsula building, which forms part of the wider Green Quarter development. At the time this was one of Manchester’s largest regeneration projects, unveiled by Crosby Homes in 2004 (subsequently leading to the delivery of around 1,500 new apartments). Peninsula was designed by The Manser Practice Architects + Designers and comprises around 149,000 sqft of office space.

To the right is the Grade II listed Parkers Hotel, and behind that is 4 Angel Square - designed by SimpsonHaugh on behalf of MEPC Limited. Completed in 2023 the scheme provides approximately 200,000 sqft of Grade A office space over 11 storeys.

On the right is New Victoria, which was delivered by Muse in partnership with Pension Insurance Corporation plc, Network Rail, Homes England and Manchester City Council. Designed by Sheppard Robson and completed in 2024, the scheme comprises two residential towers of 20 and 25 storeys, delivering 520 build-to-rent apartments, alongside new commercial space and significant public realm improvements adjacent to Victoria Station.

Adjacent to New Victoria is the AO Arena car park. The Arena was completed in 1995 and has become one of Europe's leading indoor entertainment venues, with a current capacity of up to 23,000.