New year, new plans with the news that Peel Media has submitted the planning application for the second phase of MediaCityUk - a big expansion for a mixed-use development of hotel, offices, retail, leisure, residential and parking.

Place NorthWest reports the breakdown of uses for the site as follows:
- 2.3m sq ft offices
- 1,036 residential units
- 278,000 sq ft hotel
- 87,000 sq ft local retail
- 27,000 sq ft leisure
- 1.2m sq ft parking
Total: 4.9m sq ft

The full planning application is here with the statutory consultation period until 25 January and the planning committee scheduled for 22 March.

News of the expansion plans came along with news that Peel saw £10m knocked off its value. ManchesterConfidential said the firm was forced to take a total of £23.9m off the value of the scheme due to the "stuttering investment property market", although recent additions to the site's value throughout the previous 12 months softened the blow.

There was also much excitement about the news that Dragons' Den becomes the latest high profile show making the move to Salford's MediaCity.

The BBC2 programme, where budding entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to the panel of 'dragons' for investment, was previously filmed in Pinewood Studios near London.

The Manchester Evening News quotes Bolton-born dragon Hilary Devey, who made her millions in the distribution industry launching Pall-Ex.

"I love the south, and adore working in the Midlands, but I am really looking forward to returning to my roots and being back in the north."

Some of the other MediaCity news

* The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra have debuted a composition by the BBC Young Composer of the, Year Jack Sheen. The work was based on a mood experiment in Manchester in which 20,000 people were tested for the Great Manchester Health Experiment.
You can now hear some of the results via a video report here.

* A delegation of Norwegian media executives will visit MediaCityUK on January 11-12 to get some ideas for a similar development in Bergen on the country's west coast, reports HowDo.

* BBC Worldwide has concluded deals with children's publishers Barefoot Books and Ladybird Books which will see eight well-known tales read by the CBeebies presenters in Africa, Asia, Australia, Latin America and Poland.

* The University of Salford has been awarded funding to set up an accidental leaders course for the creative and media industries, it has been reported. Taking place over five days in February and March at MediaCityUK, it will provide intensive leadership training, including change management and planning for growth an changes within the industry.

* The National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) has announced it is holding the fifth NCTJ Student Council forum next month at MediaCity. The meeting, on 10 February, will be attended by student representatives from each NCTJ-accredited course with NCTJ board member and Guardian readers' editor Chris Elliott chairing a 'Meet the editors' panel made up of Lynn Ashwell, deputy editor, Bolton News; Eamonn O'Neal, managing editor, MEN Media ; and Michelle Mayman, TV editor, BBC North West Tonight. Students will have the opportunity to question the panel about the skills and attributes needed to succeed in today's industry.

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