The plans to turn Castlefield Viaduct into an urban park, similar to New York’s High Line, have been approved – and it could open as soon as summer.
The ambitious vision will see the Grade II-listed industrial structure turned into an urban oasis.
The 300m-long viaduct has been out of use and left to decay for more than 50 years.
Manchester City Council has now given the National Trust the green light to go ahead with the plans.
The park will initially be a temporary addition to the city centre, while the charity tests ideas and gathers feedback.
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How Castlefield Viaduct currently looks. Credit: National Trust
The initial plan is to open the park next summer for a year, with free entry made with a booking system to manage numbers.
The middle section of the viaduct will be transformed into a bee- and butterfly-friendly area filled with plants and foliage, while a covered area will show visitors the future vision for the structure.
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Duncan Laird, head of urban places at the National Trust, said: “We’re delighted that our temporary planning application has been given the green light by Manchester City Council.
“It’s a positive step towards realising our plans, and those of our partners and supporters.
How it will look, potentially as soon as next summer. Credit: Twelve Architects & Masterplanners
“Earlier this year we invited the public to share their thoughts and give feedback on our plans to open the viaduct as a temporary urban park.
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“We were encouraged by the positive response we received with so many people sharing our excitement about the potential benefits the viaduct could have on the area and those who live locally.
“We’re still in conversation with a number of key organisations whose support we need to make this a reality for Manchester, but we’re looking forward to sharing more news on our plans and progress in the New Year.”
Mike Innerdale, regional director for the north at the National Trust, added: “The pandemic showed us the importance of our local parks and gardens, but it also highlighted significant inequalities in access to green space in urban areas like Manchester.
Read more: This company replants your Christmas tree – then rents it back to you every year
“The approval of our temporary planning application means we can progress with our ambitions to transform the viaduct into an accessible green space for the 50,000 residents living within a twenty-minute walk of the area.
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“We also want to share the viaduct’s story with the people of Manchester, many of whom are likely to have walked on the cobbles underneath this mighty heritage structure, or spotted it on the Castlefield skyline, without knowing its history.
“The viaduct has stood in Manchester for over 125 years and we want to help the city to protect it, injecting the viaduct with a new lease of life so it becomes a space people can use and be proud of.
“We hope that by testing ideas, finding out what people really need from this unique space, and growing the number of supporters who can help us to make this happen, we can create something that will benefit generations for many years to come.”
Featured image: Twelve Architects & Masterplanners
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A ‘legacy walk’ in memory of the Joe Thompson is taking place across Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
The ‘Walk With Me for JT’, a.k.a Joe Thompson ‘Legacy Walk’, is back next month, and Greater Mancunians are being encouraged to take part.
Returning this year following his tragic passing last April, the now annual charity walk has already raised thousands for charity and is set for another big turnout.
Joe Thompson, an ex-Rochdale AFC and Bury FC player, sadly died at just 36 following a long battle with lymphoma, having been diagnosed three different times in 12 years.
While the young husband and father of two’s story is a heartbreaking one, it has also become a source of inspiration for so many across the North West and, indeed, across the UK, with people once again gearing up to complete a fundraising walk in his name.
Set to honour him by making the journey from his adopted home of Rochdale all the way to Old Trafford, with Thompson having come through Man United’s youth academy, the 15-mile trek will start at his former club’s Crown Oil Arena and stop at Bury’s Gigg Lane as well as Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium.
First held in 2024 under the ‘Walk With Me for JT’ banner, the initial legacy walk saw the Bath-born footballer and countless others complete 21 miles in an effort to raise money for treatment.
Gone but never forgotten, the charity walk survives not only in the hearts and souls of his family, friends and other people’s lives he touched, but in the community spirit that his struggle and immense bravery in the face of illness helped spur on throughout the region and beyond.
Writing on social media, the Thompson family and the Foundation in his memory said, “Last year, he walked beside us. This year, we walk for him. This isn’t just a walk… It’s a promise. A promise to carry his strength, his belief, his light forward.
For every family facing illness. For everyone experiencing loss or hardship. For anyone who needs hope right now. Every step matters. Every mile has meaning. Whether you’ve walked before or this is your first time. You won’t walk alone.”
Join the annual Joe Thompson legacy walk on Saturday 2nd May 💙
Departing from the Crown Oil Arena, the 15-mile walk will finish at Manchester United's Old Trafford 🏟️
They signed off by adding: “Be part of something bigger. Be part of Joe’s legacy. Be part of the movement. Get a team together, invite your friends, colleagues and family and let’s raise funds to support The Joe Thompson Foundation.”
With the event beginning at 11am on Saturday, 2 May, there have already been numerous sign-ups, and you can expect even more to lace up their shoes and pay tribute to a local hero.
If you want to join in the effort and help do your bit, you can register for the 2026 Joe Thompson Legacy Walk right HERE.
Manchester rent is now ‘41% more expensive than five years ago, according to a recent study
Danny Jones
Yes, that’s right, as per some of the latest data on leased housing in central Manchester, it’s now approximately 41% more expensive to rent here than it was half a decade ago.
If you’ve lived in and around the city centre for long enough, chances are that you’ve already been feeling that difference, especially of late.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis roughly began in 2021, following the economy and the world essentially opening back up after multiple lockdowns, so it’s little surprise that new research has shown affordability when it comes to renting has been on a slump ever since, too.
As well as the price of seemingly most things in everyday life going up post-pandemic, the average rental rate for even just a one-bedroom flat/apartment has jumped up significantly between 2020 and 2025.
Even some ‘available’ housing in town is being hampered by claddin (Credit: Valienne via WikiCommons)
That’s according to the numbers crunched by credit card experts, Zable, anyway.
Not only did their recent report cite the rent prices going up even before the cost of living crisis – essentially following the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak – but if their figures, the rate of inflation and the unwaveringly high demand for housing are anything to go by, this trajectory is likely to continue in 2026.
As of February this year, around one in three UK households is now a single-person occupancy, which already comes with its challenges (the Manchester City Council tax discount being a thin lifeline for countless), not to mention energy bills and the cost of groceries continuing on an upwards trend.
Put in the simplest and most reductive terms, it’s now almost £300 dearer for most people to live on their own than it was back in 2020, and besides Liverpool clocking in as second on the list of increasingly expensive cities to live (a 42.12% increase), Manchester came in third.
You can see the full table down below:
Rank
City
% increase – 2020-2025
Difference from 2020 to 2025 in £
Average rental cost for a 1 bed 2025
1
Newport
47.39%
£2,611
£8,121
2
Liverpool
42.12%
£2,290
£7,727
3
Manchester
41.00%
£3,364
£11,569
4
Edinburgh
40.28%
£4,620
£16,090
5
Leicester
39.93%
£2,391
£8,379
6
Wolverhampton
39.22%
£2,049
£7,273
7
Nottingham
39.07%
£2,400
£8,543
8
Glasgow
38.02%
£2,679
£9,725
9
Colchester
37.63%
£2,617
£9,572
10
Cardiff
37.06%
£2,828
Average rental cost for a 1-bed 2025
Another fear is that with lots of people finding it hard to manage living in other major cities like London, even those moving to Manchester are also having an impact on how available affordable housing is here.
That’s why schemes such as the new ‘social rent’ development over in Wythenshawe are so important to the current generations of renters, with the possibility of owning your own property in the future becoming increasingly difficult for so many.
It’s also worth noting that Manchester ranked fourth among the British locations where the cost of living is said to have increased the most over the past five years, with the average difference in annual spend growing by an estimated 22.84%.
Daisy Jackson -
24th November 2021 
