Mace has completed and handed over ITV Studio’s new production facility for Coronation Street at MediaCityUK, Trafford, Greater Manchester.
The standalone facility includes all the soap’s film, production and support facilities for Coronation Street. The site is adjacent to the Imperial War Museum North and accessed by a bridge from the main MediaCityUK complex.
Mace was originally appointed as project manager to oversee design and gain planning permission for the site, but its remit later expanded to construction manager for delivery of the project, which occupies a 7.7 acre site.
The production centre includes two sound stage buildings, specialist production facilities and offices, dressing rooms and meeting space for production staff and cast.
Coronation Street’s new Trafford home is MediaCityUK
Everything had to be replicated at the new site
Coronation Street is Britain’s longest running TV programme, and its cast and production team is at work on some nights and weekends as well as weekdays.
The show was able to film at its new site from January 2014.
A total of 54,000 cobbles have been used, many recovered from canal side developments in nearby Salford and Eccles.
There are more than 400,000 facing bricks on the lot, of which 144,000 were reclaimed from a derelict Salford street.
Every last idiosyncrasy of the set had to be duplicated – if the brickwork was “bad” on a particular building on the old set, it had to be equally “bad” on the new one.
Mace’s project director Steve Gillingham commented: “The project has been challenging but extremely exciting for us to be involved in. It has taken over 60 organisations and over 3,000 people to create and build Coronation Street’s new home.
“The Mace Corrie team has done a great job in faithfully replicating the old set and the reaction from the cast, fans and the public to the new set has been incredibly positive.”
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I worked in the sixties for a company Fairweather Construction Ltd and was involved in construction of The Factory building within the Granada site. The factory I understand housed the sets for internal house street shots. It was a very interesting project not least due to the fact a backfilled canal ran though the site which created a considerable problem for foundation construction back then. I became friendly with some of the cast of Coronation Street and with in particular a guy who played Ken Barlow’s brother who in the script left the Street to play for Arsenal.