Manchester suffered a double blow to its ambitions to become a cultural and media powerhouse yesterday as the costs of establishing a second home for the Royal Opera House rose and ITV ruled out moving to the BBC’s new MediaCity base.

The opera move could be the 'most significant arts development in this country for a generation', according to an independent report commissioned by Arts Council England.But the report, by Graham Marchant, arts consultant, warned that the project was 'not yet viable' and would need central government funding to meet the estimated £100m cost of refurbishing the city’s Palace Theatre

Financial Times