LAX, interesting that you say the planning permissions are in place. Can you advise what they cover and when they were submitted? I've searched the Manchester City Council planning portal and can't find any applications of relevance.
Some design work clearly has been done but basically only enough to understand how the main elements might fit in the space available. When the notice was issued in June seeking to appoint the main design and engineering team or this project, it was clearly stated that the current work is only up to RIBA Work Stage - concept design.
Do not underestimate the complexity of this project or the amount of information that needs to be provided to a planning authority these days before they can approve a planning application - or the amount of time that process could take.