National Opera Centre plan for scrapped Manchester super casino site » Communities » 24dash.com

A multi-million pound opera house could be built on the site of the scrapped super casino project, it emerged today.

Talks are ongoing between Manchester City Council and the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden about whether a "National Opera Centre" could be the answer to regenerating the east of the city.

Any resulting project would include not just a performance space but a training venue for opera and ballet - and could even give the public the chance to look behind the scenes.

The discussions came about after the Royal Opera House decided to show circus opera Monkey: Journey To The West, which opened last year's Manchester International Festival.

Tony Hall, chief executive of the Royal Opera House, said the plans would be aimed at making the Covent Garden venue a "truly national resource".

He said: "There are early wide-ranging discussions taking place between the chief executive of Manchester City Council and me, looking at how we might develop the relationship between us.

"Our July presentation of the fantastic opera Monkey: Journey to the West, created by Gorillaz and Chen Shi Zheng, represents our first collaboration with Manchester City Council and Manchester International Festival. This has provided a great opportunity to explore possible innovative future projects.

"Manchester has a strong track record of using culture to drive urban regeneration. We are excited about how this might progress our programme of getting the work of the Royal Opera House to as wide an audience as possible, to make the Royal Opera House a truly national resource."

A spokeswoman for the council said it is too early to speculate about costs or how many jobs will be created.

But she said: "We can confirm we are holding talks with the Royal Opera House about economic and social regeneration through an innovative partnership.

"The ideas we are discussing are not just about performance but include skills and training covering many aspects of opera and ballet.

"Our proposals will open the door of world-class performances to the public to let them experience everything that happens in production and presentation.

"It is too early to discuss details of any proposed partnership arrangement but any agreement will build on existing cultural developments which benefit the city region."

Manchester was the surprise choice for the super casino when it was awarded in 2007, beating off competition from Blackpool and the O2 - formerly the Millennium Dome.

The project was intended to drive urban regeneration close to Manchester City Football Club's Eastlands stadium but was scrapped by the Government in February to widespread disappointment in the city.

Since then, the council has been looking at other projects which could replace it.

During a visit to Bolton earlier today, Gordon Brown said anything which could bring employment to the area would be a good thing.

The Prime Minister said: "What we are trying to do in Manchester is to get additional jobs.

"I think the super casino was always a controversial project. I think if we can get additional jobs in other areas, particularly that will help young people in the local area get employment where there is unemployment at the moment, that will be a good thing for Manchester and I have been talking to the Manchester council as well as talking to other agencies within government about what we can do to produce jobs in the area."

Councillor Simon Ashley, leader of the Liberal Democrats in Manchester, criticised today's announcement as a political stunt ahead of local elections on Thursday.

He said: "Senior council officers have personally confirmed to me this morning that the Opera plans are just one option for the east Manchester site, and that discussions are at a very early stage.

"No business plans or costings have been submitted. No estimates for jobs created have been provided

"All these facts, and the fact that today is three days before the council elections, points to a leak for political reasons. The timing of this leak stinks."