The redevelopment of Manchester Town Hall is taking shape as new trees and lighting columns stretching up to 50ft are being installed in Albert Square.
This will see 10 new trees planted in the green spaces previously marked as ‘I will be a tree’, as well as along the side of the Town Hall on Princess Street.
Planted around the grade-one listed structure will be nine different variations of trees.
The trees are currently lying flat on the concrete, with heavy equipment surrounding them, as the construction workers on the redevelopment cut away the concrete.
Last week, lighting columns were erected around the perimeter, which will display the Manchester Bee on the floor of the square.
The reconstruction of Albert Square was initially expected to finish in July 2024, with a budget of £238m.
But delays due to COVID-19 and prices of materials increasing from the cost-of-living crisis, the new estimated completion date is summer 2026.
These delays alone have already had a £67m impact on the project, and the council has had to borrow an extra £29m of funding.
Knutsford-based landscapers, Wright Landscapers, will be installing the trees, and have taken charge of other Manchester projects, such as The Blackfriar Pub, Rochdale Town Hall and the Castle Irwell Development.
The redevelopment is well over half of the way complete, and the newest progression is an indication that the scaffolding around the historic Manchester structure will soon be coming down.
