On this page 6 sections
Manchester City Council has 8 planning applications on its register for the 2026 Christmas markets, one for each site, each for full planning permission for 47 or 59 days. None of them had been decided when we checked on 1 November 2026. The target decision dates run from 30 November 2026 to 17 December 2026.
All 8 Manchester Christmas Markets planning applications
Every application, in order of its target decision date. The reference opens the application on the council’s own register.
| Site and reference | Days | Comments close | Decision due | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral Gardens PLA-2026-001665 |
59 | Under Consultation | ||
| Albert Square PLA-2026-001701 |
59 | Under Consultation | ||
| Lincoln Square PLA-2026-001695 |
47 | Under Consultation | ||
| Corn Exchange & Exchange Square PLA-2026-001667 |
47 | Under Consultation | ||
| King Street PLA-2026-001666 |
47 | Under Consultation | ||
| Market Street PLA-2026-001670 |
47 | Under Consultation | ||
| New Cathedral Street PLA-2026-001668 |
47 | Under Consultation | ||
| St Ann's Square and Exchange Street PLA-2026-001669 |
47 | Under Consultation |
What the applications say: 6 are headed City Council Development: Creation of temporary Christmas Markets
; the Lincoln Square and Albert Square applications are for a temporary change of use of public open space for the purpose of a Christmas Market
. All 8 are full planning applications marked for a delegated decision, so council officers decide them rather than the planning committee.
Checked one by one on Manchester City Council’s planning register on 1 November 2026. We show the site, dates and status only, never the names on an application.
Do Christmas markets need planning permission?
Often not, for a short market. English planning law gives three routes, and which one applies depends on how long the market runs and who runs it.
Manchester’s 2026 markets run for 47 days, and for 59 at Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens, well past the 14-day limit. Every site has an application for full planning permission anyway. A council can apply for, and decide, permission for its own development (Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992, regulation 3). The register doesn’t say why permission was sought rather than relying on Class BA.
Planning a market of your own, a car-boot sale or a pop-up event? The same 14 and 28-day limits apply. Read permitted development rights explained for how the rest of the GPDO works.
Read on legislation.gov.uk on 30 October 2026, current text for England: GPDO 2015 Sch. 2 Part 4 Class B, Part 12 Class BA (inserted by S.I. 2020/632, time limit removed by S.I. 2021/1464).
Manchester Christmas Markets 2026: locations and dates
The markets open on 6 November 2026 and close on 22 December 2026. Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens stay open until 3 January 2027. That is 47 days, or 59 at the two longer sites, exactly the periods in the planning applications.
The ten locations
- Albert Square
- Lincoln Square (new for 2026)
- King Street
- St Ann's Square
- Corn Exchange
- Exchange Street
- New Cathedral Street
- Market Street
- Exchange Square
- Cathedral Gardens
Piccadilly Gardens, which had its own Christmas-market application in 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025, is not on the 2026 list, and PlanWatch found no 2026 application for it.
Dates and locations: Manchester City Council, Manchester's Christmas Markets 2026, checked 30 October 2026.
Manchester Christmas market planning applications, year by year
Every season in the record has its own set of applications, one per site, each for that season’s days.
| Season | Applications | Registered | Decided | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 7 | September 2018 | 14 Nov to 19 November 2018 | All 7 permitted |
| 2019 | 8 | October 2019 | 4 Dec to 23 December 2019 | All 8 permitted (Albert Square's decision is dated May 2022 in the record) |
| 2023 | 7 | November 2023 | 6 Dec to 13 December 2023 | All 7 permitted |
| 2024 | 7 | September 2024 | 6 November 2024 | All 7 permitted |
| 2025 | 8 | September 2025 | 10 Oct to 28 October 2025 | 7 permitted; Albert Square's was withdrawn |
| 2026 | 8 | October 2026 | Due 30 Nov to 17 December 2026 | Awaiting decisions |
Christmas-market applications only (not the separate ice-rink or Christmas-lights applications). PlanIt's copy shows none for the 2020, 2021 or 2022 seasons. Source: Manchester's previous planning register (pa.manchester.gov.uk), as indexed by PlanIt, searched 30 October 2026.
When will the Christmas markets applications be decided?
- 30 November 2026: Cathedral Gardens (awaiting decision)
- 4 December 2026: Albert Square (awaiting decision)
- 9 December 2026: Lincoln Square (awaiting decision)
- 17 December 2026: Corn Exchange & Exchange Square (awaiting decision)
- 17 December 2026: King Street (awaiting decision)
- 17 December 2026: Market Street (awaiting decision)
- 17 December 2026: New Cathedral Street (awaiting decision)
- 17 December 2026: St Ann's Square and Exchange Street (awaiting decision)
A target date is the council’s aim, not a deadline. We re-check the register as each date arrives and update the table above with the decision, so come back to this page to see them land.
The markets are one corner of the register. The same register lists every extension, conversion and new build in Manchester. Search your postcode to see what’s been applied for on your own street, free.
Christmas markets and planning permission: questions
Do Christmas markets need planning permission?
Not always. In England, any land can be used for a market on up to 14 days a year without planning permission (GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 4, Class B). A market held by or on behalf of a council has its own permitted development right with no day limit, unless the land is a site of special scientific interest or a scheduled monument (Part 12, Class BA). Beyond that, or on land inside a building's curtilage, a market needs planning permission. All 8 of Manchester's 2026 market sites have applications for full planning permission.
Why are there planning applications for the Manchester Christmas Markets?
The register doesn't give a reason. It shows 8 applications for full planning permission, one per site, each for 47 or 59 days, and 6 of them are headed "City Council Development". A council can apply for, and decide, planning permission for its own development (Town and Country Planning General Regulations 1992, regulation 3). Manchester's register has Christmas-market applications for every season in the record PlanWatch searched: 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.
When will the Manchester Christmas Markets planning applications be decided?
The council's target decision dates run from 30 November 2026 (Cathedral Gardens) to 17 December 2026. None had been decided when PlanWatch last checked the register, on 1 November 2026. A target date is the council's aim, not a deadline it must meet.
Where are the Manchester Christmas Markets in 2026?
In ten city-centre locations: Albert Square, Lincoln Square, King Street, St Ann's Square, Corn Exchange, Exchange Street, New Cathedral Street, Market Street, Exchange Square, Cathedral Gardens. The council's planning applications pair Corn Exchange with Exchange Square, and St Ann's Square with Exchange Street, so the ten locations are covered by 8 applications. Lincoln Square is new this year.
When do the Manchester Christmas Markets open and close?
They open on 6 November 2026 and run until 22 December 2026, except Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens, which stay open until 3 January 2027. Those are the 47 and 59 days the planning applications ask for.
Can a market open before its planning application is decided?
Opening before a decision is not an offence in itself. Planning law treats development without a permission it needs as a "breach of planning control" (Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 171A), which a council deals with through its enforcement powers, and a market run by or on behalf of a council has its own permitted development right (GPDO Part 12, Class BA). The register does not say whether that right is relied on here.
Can I comment on the Christmas markets planning applications?
Yes, while consultation is open. Each application's page on Manchester's planning register has a Comments tab. The consultation deadlines are 6 November 2026 for Cathedral Gardens, Lincoln Square, Albert Square, and 13 November 2026 for King Street, Corn Exchange & Exchange Square, New Cathedral Street, St Ann's Square and Exchange Street, Market Street. Comments must be about planning matters such as noise, crowding or access.
Disclaimer: PlanWatch provides general information about UK planning. This page is not legal advice. It reports what Manchester City Council’s planning register shows; check each application’s own page for its current status.