Images released today show the extraordinary new "rippled waves" design for the £250m Therme waterpark that is set to be built next to the Trafford Centre. Bosses of the vast resort have unveiled the new design that they will put forward to Trafford Council planners in the coming weeks.
They are inviting the pubilc to view and comment on the new plans ahead of it being considered by the council. Work started earlier this year to completely clear the former EventCity site where Therme Manchester will be built.
The new images show for the first time exactly how the vast well-being resort will look when it is built next to the Trafford Palazzo mall. The aerial CGI shows just how big the resort will be, featuring a series of waved glass domed pavilions and lots of shrubs and greenery.
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The indoor waterpark will feature 25 pools, 30 water slides and in the new plans will also include external water slides that shoot out of the building too. Also new in the plans will be a roof terrace with further relaxation areas for guests heading to the Therme resort.
Visitors can expect thermal pools and spas, as well as swim-up bars, saunas and wellness suites as well as the indoor beach. New on the plans is a wellness garden, inspired by an English meadow.
In a statement released today, Therme Manchester said it had implemented a "series of design improvements, providing better access for the large number of expected visitors". There will now be THREE entrances which will welcome guests arriving from all directions.
There will also be a new, landscaped green boulevard which will receive people travelling by car to Therme Manchester and the neighbouring Trafford Palazzo. New on the plans is a multi-storey car park, as well as greater access provided for cyclists and those arriving on foot via public transport.
The public can view and comment on the plans online ahead of the planning submission that will be submitted in the next few weeks. The initial planning permission for Therme Manchester was unanimously approved in March 2020.
Subject to approval of the new designs, bosses say the £250m construction is on track to begin later this year with works scheduled to take around 24 months. They say the opening remains focussed towards 2025.
The concept for the project has moved from being principally a single building (with zones) and undulating roof line, to a more pavilion-style concept – with separate, connected structures which designers say "are immersed and enveloped in a natural landscape".
New on-site parking arrangements will be "concealed in nature", with the roof providing an outdoor customer terrace with views through to the canal. The creation of a new connection to the Bridgewater Canal will "enhance the link from the resort to Manchester city centre, allowing better access for pedestrians and cyclists".
At the centre of the new design is an urban wellbeing garden, inspired by an English meadow. Bosses say they are committed to making the facility "accessible to all" with admission prices to suit all budgets.
Stelian Iacob, Senior Vice President of Therme Group and CEO of Therme Group UK said: "Therme Manchester will have a transformative impact on the city and individuals. The scale of the project and its architectural character will be interwoven through the landscape into the urban fabric.
"The link to Bridgewater Canal will create a literal and metaphorical connection to Manchester’s past and its centre.
"The Therme experience is designed around physical and mental wellbeing. Human contact with water, steam, fresh air and nature is optimised in an environment that sets itself apart from the pressures of daily metropolitan life.”
"We are confident that Therme Manchester will be a catalyst for a wave of local urban development that, over time, will bring new homes and jobs and will create opportunities for the wider area. As such, we hope that our project will act as an urban anchor and a destination that gives a fresh identity to this area of the city."
James Whittaker, Executive Director of Development at Peel L&P said: "We are very proud to be working in partnership with Therme Group to bring their first landmark wellbeing destination to the UK.
"We recently completed the demolition works on our former EventCity site in readiness for the expansive 28-acre Therme Manchester resort and we have seen the excitement and anticipation continue to build in our local community and nationally for our next Therme Manchester milestone at TraffordCity.
"As the UK’s foremost retail, leisure and commercial destination, TraffordCity already attracts over 40 million visits a year and we are working closely with Therme Group to ensure that Therme Manchester is accessible to as many people as possible, with strong, sustainable and well-connected links to the city centre, Trafford Palazzo and The Bridgewater Canal."
Therme Manchester will follow on from Therme's flagship wellness park which is a tourist hotspot in Bucharest, Romania. Although Manchester is set to be DOUBLE the size of that one, indeed it is planned to become one of the top three all-season water destinations in the world when it opens.
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