Film crew hire/Manchester/Locations and permits
Filming in Manchester. Where to shoot, who says yes, and the rules.
Greater Manchester isn’t one permit. The city, Salford, the trams, the stations, the canals and the private estates each have their own people and their own notice periods. This is the guide we work from, written in our office in Ancoats.
Film office
Screen Manchester
Permit fee · up to 10 crew
£100
Notice · small crew
24–48 hours
Public liability
£5m minimum
On this page
01 The short version
How filming permission works in Manchester
01
Work out whose land it is
A city-centre street is Manchester City Council’s. Cross the Irwell and it’s Salford’s. MediaCityUK, the Arndale and most of the university are private, and the trams, stations and canals each have an owner of their own.
02
Apply to the right office, early enough
In the city, that’s Screen Manchester, the council’s film office: 24–48 hours for five people with handheld kit, 5–7 days once there are lights, tracks or a generator, and 4–6 weeks for a road closure.
03
Tell the people who need telling
Residents for night work, the police for anything that looks like a crime or a uniform, and the airport for a drone in its restriction zone. Screen Manchester tells Greater Manchester Police about the filming it permits.
02 Permits
Who gives permission, and what it costs
Checked against each office’s own pages on 12 October 2026. We file these as part of a crew booking. Permit fees are added on top of a final invoice.
| Where you’re filming | Who says yes | Notice | Cost and conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester city streets, squares and parks | Screen Manchester, online through Open Brolly | 24–48 hrs for 5 crew, handheld · 5–7 days with lights, tracks or jibs · 4–6 weeks for road closures | Admin fee £100 for up to 10 crew, £275 for 11–24, £375 for 25+. £5m public liability. |
| City-centre event spaces: Albert Square, St Ann’s Square, St Peter’s Square, Piccadilly Gardens, Exchange Square, Cathedral Gardens | Screen Manchester | As above | Fees by negotiation. £10m public liability. |
| Heaton Park and other council parks | Screen Manchester | As above | Heaton Park £279 for up to four hours with one to five crew; other parks £123 an hour (2025/26 rates). |
| Parking for unit vehicles | Manchester City Council, through Screen Manchester | 5 working days | £30 a bay suspended; £30 a vehicle for a yellow-line dispensation, paid 3 working days ahead. |
| Salford streets and pavements | Salford City Council, licensing | 10 days | Road closures can be discussed with plenty of notice. |
| Salford Quays (council land) and Salford parks | Salford City Council, event applications | 10 days | Fees may apply. Name the exact land. |
| MediaCityUK | The MediaCityUK estate | Ask early | £10m public liability. Drones only as part of a wider shoot. |
| Trafford, including Trafford Park and Old Trafford | Trafford Council | Ask early | Permits, parking, unit bases and closures handled in-house. |
| Bolton, including Le Mans Crescent | Bolton Film Office | Ask early | |
| Metrolink trams, stops and depots | TfGM, filming request form | 10 working days | Location fees apply. |
| Manchester Piccadilly and other Network Rail stations | Network Rail’s filming team | 5 working days, up to 10 crew | £750 an hour for commercial work, two-hour minimum, plus VAT; £500 more for late notice. Handheld kit only, no boom poles. £10m public liability. |
| Rochdale and Ashton canals, through Ancoats and Canal Street | Canal & River Trust, through FilmApp | 5 working days | Brand video £196 an hour, general views £94, drones £179, plus VAT. £5m public liability. |
| Bridgewater Canal, including Castlefield Basin | The Bridgewater Canal Company (Peel) | Ask early | An application and indemnity form. |
| Manchester Arndale | The centre’s management | Ask early | Location fee for brands, £5m public liability, method statement and risk assessment. |
| University of Manchester buildings and Manchester Museum | The university’s filming team | Museum: 3 months for large shoots | Museum: LED lighting only, 10 crew at most. |
| Dunham Massey, Lyme, Mam Tor, Winnats Pass and Kinder Scout | National Trust Film Office | Ask early | A signed contract; location fees go to the site. |
| Tatton Park | Cheshire East Council’s events team | Ask early | Drones only under a commercial filming licence. |
| The rest of the Peak District | The landowner; the National Park Authority for its own 5% | No retrospective permission | Fees usually payable. Drones often restricted in spring and summer. |
| Offices, homes, shops and private estates | The owner, under a location agreement | As agreed | Council permission too if you’re working from the pavement. |
03 In public
The rules for filming in public
How it works in practice. It isn’t legal advice, please do check the official sites for up to date information.
Filming in a public place isn’t illegal
What needs permission is the kit and the space it takes: tripods, lights, cables and vehicles on the highway. Obstructing a highway without lawful authority is an offence under section 137 of the Highways Act 1980.
Small crews still apply
Screen Manchester’s smallest category is five people or fewer with handheld kit, a tripod or sound, on 24–48 hours’ notice. The permit is what you show when someone asks.
Some public-looking places are private
The Arndale, MediaCityUK, Spinningfields and the university campuses each have their own rules. Albert Square, St Peter’s Square and Piccadilly Gardens are council event spaces with their own fees.
Nights end at 11pm
Screen Manchester counts 11pm to 7.30am as night. Filming later depends on consulting residents first.
Weapons, uniforms and staged crimes need the police
Firearms of any kind, real or replica, are prohibited without prior agreement, and police uniforms and staged crimes need guidance first. A Greater Manchester Police officer on set needs five working days’ notice and a five-hour minimum call.
Road closures take 4–6 weeks
There’s no national law that closes a road just for filming, so it goes through the council.
Children need a licence
A child performing in a film made for public showing usually needs a performance licence from the council where they live, and the council can refuse an application made less than 21 days ahead.
Loudspeakers are off from 9pm
Using one in the street between 9pm and 8am breaks the Control of Pollution Act 1974.
People on camera sign a release
Anyone featured signs one, and we put up filming notices where passers-by may be in shot.
04 Drones and airports
Drones, and Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport has a flight restriction zone. Inside it you need the airport’s permission, requested through the NATS portal on the Manchester Airport UAS request form, at least 14 days ahead.
The UK rules changed on 1 January 2026: a Flyer ID for any drone of 100g or more, an Operator ID from 250g (or 100g with a camera), UK0 to UK6 class marks on new drones, and Remote ID switched on for UK1 to UK3. Commercial flying in a city usually needs an Operational Authorisation from the CAA, such as PDRA01.
Then the landowner. Screen Manchester wants permission for take-off and landing and 4–6 weeks’ notice for flights near the highway, often with a road closure. MediaCityUK allows drones only as part of a wider shoot, Tatton Park only under a commercial filming licence, and Network Rail asks for flights near the railway to be logged on Dronecloud.
Filming at Manchester Airport
Requests go through the airport’s media centre. Clearance can take several weeks, longer for airside access. Public liability is £5m in the terminal and £50m airside or on the apron, and commercial shoots pay a location and escort fee.
05 Locations
Where to shoot in Manchester
The places that turn up in briefs, what they look like on camera, and who to ask. Screen credits are from Visit Manchester, Screen Manchester or the venue itself.
City centre · M1 and M4
Northern Quarter
Red brick, cast iron and fire escapes. It has stood in for New York in Captain America: The First Avenger, The Crown and Morbius.
Ancoats · M4
Ancoats and Cutting Room Square
Restored cotton mills, cobbles and the canal. Coronation Street, The Stranger and Finding Emily have shot here. Our office overlooks the square.
M3
Castlefield
Iron viaducts, the canal basin and the reconstructed Roman fort. Peaky Blinders, World on Fire and Cold Feet.
150 Deansgate · M3 3EH
John Rylands Library
A neo-Gothic reading room and vaulted corridors. Darkest Hour, Anatomy of a Scandal and A Very English Scandal.
M2
Manchester Town Hall and Albert Square
Waterhouse Gothic that has doubled for Parliament in Peaky Blinders and A Very English Scandal, and appeared in Sherlock Holmes and The Iron Lady.
Hathersage Road · M13 0FE
Victoria Baths
Edwardian tiles, galleried pools and Turkish baths. Peaky Blinders, Life on Mars, Cracker and A Gentleman in Moscow.
Baring Street · M1 2PY
Depot Mayfield
A vast former railway depot with an 8,200 sq m platform, next to the city’s newest park.
Factory International · M3 4JQ
Aviva Studios
An OMA-designed warehouse, a 1,500-seat hall and a covered undercroft. Channel 4 filmed The Piano’s finale here.
Salford · M50
MediaCityUK and Salford Quays
Glass, water and broadcast buildings, with The Lowry and IWM North across the quay. Home to BBC North and the Coronation Street set.
M1
Manchester Piccadilly
The glass-roofed train shed and concourse, for arrivals, departures and city-in-motion shots.
North Manchester
Heaton Park and Heaton Hall
A Georgian hall in the city’s biggest park. A Gentleman in Moscow, Bancroft and It’s a Sin.
Stockport
Stockport Plaza and the Underbanks
A 1932 art deco cinema, and the steep old streets below it. Peaky Blinders used the Plaza.
Bolton
Le Mans Crescent
A sweeping stone civic crescent. Nolly and Alma’s Not Normal.
Knutsford · WA16 6QN
Tatton Park
A neoclassical mansion, formal gardens and a deer park, south of the city. Peaky Blinders shot in the mansion; we shot FatFace’s campaign with the Fletchers here.
Edale, Mam Tor, Kinder Scout
The Peak District
Moorland ridges and hill farms within an hour of the city. We filmed FatFace’s campaign with the Fletchers on their farm in the Peaks. It’s stunning and well worth thinking about.
06 Corporate
Corporate locations: rooms that look the part
For interviews, leadership films and boardroom scenes. A few of these advertise filming. For the rest, book through the events team and say it’s a shoot.
Peter Street · M2 5QR
Albert Hall
A chapel-style concert hall with its own filming page. The BBC and Channel 4 have shot here.
Mosley Street · M2 3HY
The Portico Library
Georgian library rooms that take small filming and photo shoots.
Great Ancoats Street · M4 5AD
Huckletree Ancoats
Meeting rooms, event space and a podcast studio; filming is a booking option on its hire form.
Across the city centre
Bruntwood workspaces
Meeting rooms by the half hour, roof terraces and auditoriums, and a podcast studio at Blackfriars House.
Manchester Science Park and others
Bruntwood SciTech
Labs and science-park offices, for health, tech and research films.
Spinningfields, King Street, Salford Quays
Spaces and Regus
Glass offices and boardrooms by the hour; Regus rooms from £14 an hour.
Salford · M3 5LH
The Lowry Hotel
A meetings floor with its own entrance, eight rooms and a ballroom for 600.
Booth Street · M2 4AW
King Street Townhouse
A 20-seat screening room, a terrace and a wine cellar, in the old banking quarter.
Petersfield · M2 3GX
Manchester Central
The convention centre, for conferences, with a studio offer for streamed events.
Lower Mosley Street · M2 3WS
The Bridgewater Hall
An auditorium and the Barbirolli Room, for events of up to 1,800.
Inside Depot Mayfield
Escape to Freight Island
Seven spaces in a former railway depot; its outdoor yard is pitched as a shoot location.
Oxford Road campus
Manchester Metropolitan University
Campus spaces for hire that have hosted BBC and ITV shoots.
07 Scouting
Finding a location
Where to look, and what we do when it’s part of a booking.
01
Shortlist
Three or four options from the libraries below and our own list, with photos and the catch for each.
02
Recce
We walk it with you or for you: light at the time you’ll shoot, power, parking, noise and where the unit goes.
03
Agree terms
A location agreement with the owner: hours, fee, what can be moved, and what happens if you overrun.
04
Permits and call sheet
The permits filed, the neighbours told, and the parking, unit base and access on the call sheet.
- Screen Manchester’s location library: council and partner locations across the city, with brochures for London and New York doubles.
- Filming in England: the national production agency’s free directory of locations outside London.
- The National Trust Film Office, for its houses and land around the city.
- Location agencies: Location Partnership and Location Works both list properties in and around Manchester.
Need a location sorted?
Tell us where and when. We’ll recce it, agree terms with the owner, and file the permits with the crew booking. Or call us on 07412 543822.
Quick contact form
08 Questions
Filming in Manchester: questions
Do I need a permit to film in Manchester?
For anything beyond a phone, yes. On the city’s streets, squares and parks, apply to Screen Manchester, the council’s film office: even its smallest category, five crew with handheld kit, wants 24–48 hours’ notice. Salford, the Metrolink, Network Rail, the canals and private estates such as MediaCityUK each give their own permission.
How much does a filming permit cost in Manchester?
Screen Manchester’s 2026/27 admin fee is £100 for up to 10 crew, £275 for 11–24 and £375 for 25 or more. Parking suspensions are £30 a bay. Parks, event spaces, stations and canals charge their own location fees on top.
How much notice does Screen Manchester need?
24–48 hours for five people or fewer with handheld kit, 5–7 days with lights, tracks, jibs or a generator, and 4–6 weeks for road closures or stunts.
Can I fly a drone in Manchester?
Yes, with planning. Inside Manchester Airport’s flight restriction zone you need the airport’s permission through NATS, at least 14 days ahead. You also need the landowner’s permission for take-off and landing, Screen Manchester’s agreement near the highway, and a pilot with the right CAA authorisation.
Can I film at MediaCityUK?
Yes, with the estate’s permission: it’s private land, not the council’s. It asks for £10m public liability and allows drones only as part of a wider shoot. Salford City Council covers its own land on the Quays.
Can I film at Manchester Airport?
Yes, through the airport’s media team. Allow several weeks, more for airside access, and £50m public liability airside. Commercial shoots pay a location and escort fee.
Is Manchester Town Hall open for filming?
Not yet. It’s closed for restoration and due to reopen in spring 2027. Albert Square, in front of it, has reopened and is booked through Screen Manchester.
Can I film on the Metrolink?
Yes, through TfGM: send its filming request form to filming@tfgm.com at least 10 working days ahead. Location fees apply.
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