New Coronation Street set to include 'Weatherfield Precinct' inspired by Salford

The new Weatherfield Precinct was inspired by Salford. Credit: ITV

Coronation Street has unveiled plans for an expansion to its existing set to include a new 'Weatherfield Precinct', inspired by Salford.

The ITV programme is the most watched soap in the UK and this week made the move to hour-long episodes in a new 8pm time slot.

The show's set, a 7.7 acre site in Trafford, will be extended to make way for a two-storey construction featuring maisonettes, a staircase and balcony leading to the properties, a piazza and an array of accessible local shops and units.

Construction on the new development begins this week and is expected to take six months to complete.

The set will take six months to build. Credit: ITV

Coronation Street's production designer, Rosie Mullins-Hoyle, said: "We are extremely excited to be starting to build Weatherfield Precinct this week after a year of technical drawings, model making, visualising and planning.

"An incredible amount of research has been carried out focusing on 1960s local architecture and we are striving to create an authentic area of Weatherfield with a grittier vibe to the existing street that we know and love."

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The precinct is not an entirely new concept having previously been referenced in the soap's dialogue with characters heading off to the parade of shops.

However, the new set will afford scriptwriters the chance to broaden the show, creating opportunities to explore storylines beyond the cobbles of Coronation Street itself, ITV said.

The new set will expand the show's storylines from the famous cobbles.

Coronation Street's series producer, Iain MacLeod, said: "The fabled Weatherfield Precinct has been much discussed, but little seen on the show in our 61 years, and I am really excited to be expanding the Coronation Street universe.

"The plans for the shopping area are drawn directly from the real-world Salford environs that inspired the show's creator Tony Warren and exemplify the authenticity and ambition we still prize as we move to hour-long episodes this week."

The outdoor lot was last expanded in 2018 when the Victoria Street set was added to the site on the Manchester Ship Canal.

The additions included Victoria Gardens, Speed Daal, the Weatherfield Tram stop, Trim Up North, George Shuttleworth's funeral parlour and an extended Weatherfield Police Station.

The set was opened by one of Coronation Street's most recognisable faces Sue Nicholls, who plays Audrey Roberts.

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