The MediaCity studios, owned by ITV in Trafford, Greater Manchester has been the current home to Coronation Street since 2013. The lot on Trafford Wharf Road houses all production for the show.
Moving from Quay Street[]
In March 2009, ITV confirmed that its northern operations would be leaving Granada Television Studios on Quay Street to new offices at MediaCityUK in Salford, though said that Coronation Street would remain "for the foreseeable future". Following changes to management the following year, ITV spoke with The Peel Group to secure land for development of a new Coronation Street production complex at MediaCity.
The move was announced to coincide with the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the show, and in September 2011, building work began on a site opposite the Imperial War Museum. The 7.7 acre plot would allow for a bigger exterior set, with the road 2.5 wider so that two cars could pass one another at ease.
Reclaimed materials were used throughout the new set, with 144,000 bricks reclaimed from a derelict Salford street, and 54,000 reclaimed cobbles from Salford and Eccles.
A bigger Coronation Street[]
In order to cope with the demands of high-definition filming, the street was rebuilt in a larger scale to allow for a greater variety of shots. This caused a couple of minor changes to the street's appearance; as well as now being longer, the road was now big enough for two cars to drive across. The Rovers Return's exterior was also altered as a result to the expansion, with the building mysteriously gaining a second window on the front of the pub.
Expanding Victoria Street[]
Within the first six months of moving to the Trafford Wharf Road site in 2013, plans were drawn up to expand Victoria Street beyond Victoria Court and V Court Fitness. At the Granada site, the end of this road was blocked off with a gate that was for Victoria Court residents only, though when the show moved to MediaCity the road now continued downwards with the Victoria Court facade turning at a 90° angle. Shortly after the fire at the complex in 2015, this facade was covered with tarpaulin and obscured from shots.
3D models were created alongside a computerised version for submission to Trafford Council, and work began on the extension at the beginning of 2017. Salford and Manchester architecture was taken into account when designing the new buildings, and Kate Oates teased a "police station and urban garden" as part of the new development.
Following the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017, it was announced that a tribute bench to the victims, in particular Coronation Street super fan Martyn Hett, would be placed in the urban garden. The bench was designed by scenic artist Dan Taylor, and the mosaic was brought to life by artist Ruth Wilkinson.
It was confirmed in January 2018 that Co-op and Costa Coffee had signed exclusive product placement deals for their storefronts to appear within the expanded Victoria Street, and on 12th March 2018 the new street was previewed to the press for the first time. Filming began the following day, with the first scenes showing Eileen Grimshaw and Abi Franklin in the urban garden transmitted during Episode 9436 (20th April 2018).
Now continuing beyond Victoria Court, the extended Victoria Street includes the aforementioned urban garden, Speed Daal Pakistani restaurant, an estate agents (now Trim Up North barbers shop), a derelict snooker hall and council advice office (now Shuttleworth Independent Funeral Directors), Costa Coffee (now EE), Co-op, a tattoo parlour and Metrolink station. The handles on the doors of the station were originally on the doors of the Rovers Return at the Quay Street site and the cobbles used are those from the Quay Street site. Weatherfield Police Station station is hidden behind the facade of Victoria Court, with the illusion that it is in another part of Weatherfield. It wasn't until Episode 9507 (13th July 2018) that both the exterior and interior of the new police station were seen for the first time.
Weatherfield precinct build[]
On 9th March 2022, ITV announced that they would be expanding the set once more with construction of a two-storey 1960s style shopping precinct, complete with accessible units facing onto a piazza and maisonette flats accessible via a staircase. The set will be built behind Victoria Street and the Metrolink station, and is expected to be completed within six months.