Parts of Deansgate in Manchester city centre will be pedestrianised during the coronavirus pandemic.

The city council has said the road will be closed to traffic to encourage more people to “walk and cycle”, and make the centre more attractive.

“During the lockdown, our highways team has been working to widen busy footpaths to make sure pedestrians can keep two metres apart at all times,” council leader Sir Richard Leese said on Monday.

“We will pilot the pedestrianisation of parts of Deansgate to test how we can make our city centre more attractive for people who want to walk and cycle.

“We would also welcome ideas from within our communities as to how we can make their neighbourhoods safer. This crisis provides us an opportunity to think differently about how we use our towns and cities, and we must take it.

“”Strict social distancing will still be necessary and as some people return to their place of work, making sure that our transport systems remain safe is paramount.”

No timetable has yet been released for closing off Deansgate.