Developer Allied London has been given the go-ahead for the first phase of its £1.3bn redevelopment of the St. John’s neighbourhood in Manchester.

Allied London will commence the project in Autumn 2016, expecting to create new jobs in the building construction phase of the project.

The new neighbourhood will consist of 2.8 million sq ft. of workspace, events space, riverside parks, gardens, hotels, arts venues, independent shops, cafes, restaurants, including 1,450 homes, which will come together to form St. John’s, one of the key projects in the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

Designed to provide a real counterbalance to the Capital’s cultural hub the development will see a new calibre of culture in the North emerge and become the new home for The Manchester International Festival.

George Osborne chose St. John’s Old Granada Studios building to host the Government’s Northern Powerhouse talk last week, revealing business reforms that will make a huge difference for the future of modern enterprise in the North and North West.

Michael Ingall, Allied London’s Chief Executive, said; “Allied London has long been championing Manchester and are fully supporting the Northern Powerhouse initiative, which now even has its own elected Minister in the Houses of Parliament.

“It is a mission of the utmost importance. Manchester has always been at the heart of enterprise, arts and culture and St. John’s will provide a platform for the city to cluster creative enterprise and activities and flourish with workspace, theatre, music, performance, events, craft workshops and independent retail at the heart of our new neighbourhood.”