This is what Manchester’s new ‘iconic’ cafe-bar and offices housed in a grade-II listed ‘solarium’ looks like.

The former Campfield market halls, on Liverpool Road in the city centre, will reopen as offices, studios, events spaces, and a cafe-bar-restaurant in late June.

Their multi-million-pound refurbishment is part of the wider St John’s project, which developers hope will have a similar effect on Manchester as opening the Guggenheim gallery had on Bilbao in the late 90s.

How an internal department workspace in Campfield will look once it reopens to the public in June 2025 | Allied London/LDRS

placeholder image — How an internal department workspace in Campfield will look once it reopens to the public in June 2025 | Allied London/LDRS

The Local Democracy Reporting Service had a behind-the-scenes first look at the spaces, with the Lower Hall now just called Campfield.

Its central atrium is where Mancs will be warmly welcomed, as it’s where a cafe-bar open to the public called Campfield House sits. It will serve a full menu of food, serve as a place to work and meet over coffee in the day, but become a trendy cocktail bar in the evening.

Final plans on the menu and seating areas are still under wraps, but bosses also say Campfield could soon do what it was designed for — markets.

How the weekend market at Campfield will look once it reopens to the public in June 2025 | Allied London/LDRS

“We are going to do well-curated markets at weekends,” said Tanya Grady, executive director of Campfield for developer Allied London, on Wednesday (May 7).

“It will be a bit more curated than a maker’s market. It could be a flower market or night market.

“If they are successful they could be regular. There’s the ambition to do that and that’s why we have designed it flexibly.”

Although much of Campfield will largely remain closed off to the general public as it becomes office space for the media and creative industries, Tanya added the firm ‘will explore different cultural uses’ from July onwards, meaning events could be hosted inside.

Both the Upper and Lower halls, originally built in 1882 and 1878 respectively, started life as exhibition and market areas, but became a barrage balloon factory during the Second World War.

How Campfield House cafe and event space will look once it reopens to the public in June 2025 | Allied London/LDRS

Thousands then visited the Lower Hall for decades when it housed the Science and Industry Museum’s aerospace collection from 1985. But the museum left in 2021 as the hall needed ‘substantial’ restoration.

The work has involved enlarging the mezzanine level by more than a third, and creating interconnected bridges across the hall so people can move more freely. Wood panelling on the walls has been reused from when it was the Air and Space Hall of the museum.

But the biggest change is in the ceiling, as teams ‘repaired the roof and replaced’ vinyl panels where needed.

How Campfield Studios will look once it reopens to the public in June 2025 | Allied London/LDRS

The effect is that both Campfield and Campfield Studios — the new name for the Upper Hall — are flooded with light, even during the overcast day of the LDRS’ tour.

“It’s like being in a solarium. It makes you feel good being here,” explained Tanya.

Having a panoramic sunroof just off Deansgate also means the views looking out can be spectacular, with Beetham Tower clearly visible from Campfield Studios.

That view will be enjoyed by children’s television royalty, too, as Campfield Studios is where Blue Peter will be filmed from September.

Ultimately, bosses want the buildings to become ‘a cultural destination as well as an industrial destination’ — so they will hope the BBC’s arrival is the first of many big names, local brands, and Mancs to come inside.