What it takes to become the most connected neighbourhood in Europe

Connectivity was always going to be an essential component of Peel L&P and Legal & General Capital’s MediaCityUK scheme in Salford, Greater Manchester. Home to 250 media and digital businesses and some of the most prestigious production companies in the world, including BBC North and ITV Studios, building an infrastructure for superfast communication was not just a nice-to-have, but a non-negotiable necessity for a sector that can only thrive and succeed with this connectivity in place. So it should come as little surprise that in April the development was officially named the world’s second Wired Certified Neighbourhood by WiredScore. Thanks to eight of the development’s commercial properties being awarded Wired Certified Platinum – the highest rating available – the global rating scheme for digital connectivity has named MediaCityUK the most digitally connected development in Europe. But what does it really take to become a Wired Certified Neighbourhood? And what does it mean to the scheme’s property director Chris Reay to be the first development to pick up the rating on this side of the pond? From New York to Salford When MediaCityUK was launched nearly a decade ago, Dock10 – the company that runs the high-definition studio facilities – installed dark fibre connectivity around the estate. This network cabling connected all of the buildings together, providing a communications network that formed the foundations for MediaCityUK to become one of the most connected places in the world. Now it has got the certification to prove it. WiredScore’s criteria for the Neighbourhood Certification is for a development to provide “frictionless connectivity” across the whole of its estate. All commercial buildings on the site must be Wired Certified and must include additional connectivity features such as high-speed outdoor Wi-Fi. The certification currently applies to only one other scheme: New York’s sprawling 28-acre Hudson Yards. And as Reay points out, this means MediaCityUK is in good company. “Hudson Yards is a highly significant development in New York, and for us to be the first to be certified in the UK and Europe puts us ahead of competitors,” he says. Connected to stay competitive It is not only this association with one of New York’s biggest and most high-profile schemes that gives MediaCityUK the edge in the scramble to entice occupiers in an uncertain time for the offices sector. As companies take a fresh look at their real estate portfolios on the back of the coronavirus pandemic, it has never been more important for landlords to be able to demonstrate good – if not exemplary – connectivity. “I live in a borough of Manchester, and there’s a massive difference between the connection speed I can get working from home and the speed I can get when I come to MediaCityUK,” says Reay. It is one of the main reasons he was so keen to get back to the office, and he believes many tenants will feel the same. “We are all working more fluidly in different locations, but we still need to do meetings and talk to each other all the time,” Reay says. “You have to have complete faith in the connectivity of where your work hub is.” Tech destination Reay goes on to add that this isn’t just development-specific. Rather, entire cities must become more connected if they are going to successfully bring workforces back sooner rather than later. Before the pandemic hit, Manchester was building a reputation as one of the most exciting tech destinations in the world. According to research by BNP Paribas Real Estate and Tech Nation released in March, tech companies located in Manchester secured an almost fourfold increase in investment between 2018 and 2109, with total VC funding rising from £48m to £181m in just one year. Reay has watched Manchester’s tech boom over the past decade. “I’ve lived and worked in Manchester for my whole career, and the changes that I’ve witnessed, certainly over the past five to 10 years, are immense,” he says. “It’s becoming such an exciting, ambitious city to work in, and thinking back to the start of my career, it really is a different place.” Manchester positioned itself as one of the world’s key cities coming out of a bitter recession following the 2008 global financial crisis, adds Reay. Comparing the city to some of its global tech destination rivals, he says it is becoming a “truly connected and competitive city on a global scale”, giving the likes of Seattle, San Francisco and New York a decent run for their money. And as the city continues to plot its ambitious tech journey, MediaCityUK will play a leading role as one of the most connected developments in the world. To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette