News

Salford City Council commits to delivering £65m ‘eco-friendly’ public housing scheme

It's the biggest public housing programme the city has seen since the 1960s.

The Manc The Manc - 15th December 2020
PRP / Salford City Council

Salford City Council has laid out its commitments to build 417 affordable, eco-friendly and “good quality” homes in the city region.

It’s set to be the biggest public housing programme the city has seen since the 1960s.

Arriving in the wake of around 6,000 households waiting to be housed by the council, it’s been revealed that former school sites will be turned into community-led housing run by tenants, while the other schemes will belong to wholly council-owned company Dérive.

All the new homes – a mix of one to five-bedroom houses and apartments – will be low carbon and low energy units, which will be built with a “fabric first” approach.

It’s believed that the local authority will have to borrow up to £65 million to finance the “ambitious” project, but it hopes that the housing programme will end up enabling the saving of council cash in the future.

What exactly is in store for Salford then?

The new housing includes 47 flats and four houses on the Clifton Green in Pendlebury – for which planning permission has already been granted – 12 houses in Brassington Avenue and six houses and 35 apartments in Ryall Avenue in Ordsall, which were given the go ahead by the planning panel in October, a total of 111 homes built at the former St Luke’s Primary School in Weaste and the Irwell Valley Lower School in Irwell Riverside, of which 69 will be owned by the Broughton Trust and Inspiring Communities Housing.

The council has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding agreement with the two community-led organisations, which means it will work in partnership to provide much-needed affordable homes.

Contractor G and J Seddon has been chosen to build all of these homes.

PRP / Salford City Council
PRP / Salford City Council

Plans for 177 homes in Longshaw Drive, Little Hulton are also being prepared, but construction company Wates will not progress the proposal past the planning application stage as their costings were too high for the council, and the local authority also plans to acquire a further eight houses and 17 one-bedroom apartments being built by Salix Homes in Kara Street, Langworthy.

Peter Openshaw – Assistant Director at Dérive – described the developer’s first set of schemes as the biggest public housebuilding programme by the city since the 1960s, but admitted the 417 homes will require the council to borrow between £60 – £65 million.

And future schemes would require further borrowing still.

Bill Hinds – former Leader of Salford City Council who is now the lead member for finance – said it’s the most “ambitious” council housing project in his 37 years as a councillor, adding: “Sixty-plus million pounds is a lot of money, so it is absolutely crucial how we do borrow that money – the most resilient forms of borrowing to enable us to do that.”

The scheme is relying on grant funding from the UK government’s affordable housing public body – Homes England.

PRP / Salford City Council

Paul Dennett – Mayor of Salford – said councils need to be more “interventionist” in order to tackle the current “housing and homelessness crisis” in this country.

He said: “What we need to get back to is what happened in post-World War Two in many respects. Councils were building council housing en masse and homelessness in this country was rendered statistically insignificant.

“The moral and ethical argument is strong, but I also think the empirical argument is really strong for actually being more interventionist in a market that clearly isn’t delivering the homes that we need.”

Approving the scheme yesterday, he added: “This is a fantastic initiative and development which will hopefully put pressure on the market, but also encourage local authorities up and down the country to play a much more active role in the housing market moving forward as we drive up standards, as we deliver net-zero carbon homes, as we tackle the housing and homelessness crisis moving forward.”

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You can find more information via the Salford City Council website here.

News

The incredible plans to build floating walkways over Manchester’s waterways

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The Cyanlines plans could see new floating walkways built over Manchester's walkways

A major project that will deliver a 100-mile-plus network connecting Manchester’s parks, squares and waterways has been unveiled – and it includes impressive floating walkways.

The first steps for the CyanLines mega project have been unveiled today, including the first four routes which will link the likes of Mayfield Park, New Islington Marina, Castlefield Viaduct and Kampus.

The ambitious plans will also link lesser-known pocket parks, canal tow paths, and pedestrianised walkways, and will incorporate new planned outdoor spaces such as the Science Museum courtyard and the former Central Retail Park.

One particularly eye-catching proposal will be a new floating walkway across the middle of the River Irwell, complete with a canoe dock and storage area.

The plans will adapt to Manchester’s ever-expanding cityscape and will link up new and existing developments, providing green walking and cycling routes around town.

Manchester and Salford City Councils have already worked together and secured funding from the National Trust, Natural England, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Nature Towns and Cities programme.

There are four CyanLines pilot routes – the first being a 5km ‘Irk Valley Explorer’ that will link Chethams Library and the Glade of Light memorial, Angel Meadows, the under-development City River Park, and the Barney’s Steps made famous by LS Lowry, ending with a view of the city skyline.

Then there’s the Mayfield, New Islington and Ancoats Loop, which will connect together Mayfield Park, the Ashton Canal, the Central Retail Park which is being transformed into a campus for the UK Government, New Islington Marina, Ancoats Green, and all the way down to leafy Kampus.

How the River Irwell could look with the CyanLines routes in place
How the River Irwell could look with the CyanLines routes in place
How the River Irwell looks currently
How the River Irwell looks currently

CL3, otherwise known as the ‘Walking the knowledge corridor’, incorporates significant landmarks like the Emmeline Pankhurst statue, our historic canal network, the Palace Theatre, Symphony Gardens, the universities, Manchester Museum, and Whitworth Art Gallery.

And the final of the four pilot routes is the CL4, focused around the almighty Castlefield Viaduct but also joining the Bridgewater Canal into Salford and the Irwell River Park, as well as the gardens around Chapel Street, Greengate Park, and the River Irwell itself.

Councillor Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester is on a mission to make our city greener, investing in new parks and green spaces including the likes of Mayfield, Ancoats Green and the Castlefield Viaduct, in addition to our work to celebrate and open up our rivers and canals. We are a city with exciting, and transformational plans for the future. .

“But there’s more that we can do together. CyanLines is a bold new initiative over the next decade to imagine and create over 100 miles of connected parks, green spaces and waterfronts.

“This is just the start of CyanLines and I urge residents, business owners, community groups and leaders to join us on this very exciting journey to truly transform our city.”

Tom Bloxham MBE CBE, CyanLines project co-founder and chair, Urban Splash and founding Chair Manchester International Festival (MIF) and Factory International said that the same ambition that grew MIF will be applied to CyanLines.

How the River Irwell could look with the CyanLines routes in place
More before-and-after images of the CyanLines pilot plans

He said: “We want to bring the whole city along with us, to help us plan, fund and deliver CyanLines. No idea is too big, too ambitious, too audacious or too small or too straightforward.

“Everyone wants more green space. Everyone wants to be able to walk to the end of Castlefield Viaduct. Everyone wants to be healthier and happier.

“Imagine more species and drifts of plants and wildflowers and allotments in the city centre and being able to walk one or 100 miles of continuous paths linking all our amazing spaces. Together we can make it happen!”

Pete Swift, CyanLines project co-founder and CEO of Planit said: “The first four CyanLines provide so much more than walkable and wheelable connections linking the existing and planned excellent green and blue spaces across the city, to bring us all closer to nature and nature closer to us.

“The routes will be the starting point, or spring board, for a whole plethora of CyanLines projects which will bring new opportunities for nature to thrive and to be enjoyed.

“The ambition for CyanLines does not stop at Manchester and Salford city centres. It will ultimately link up all Greater Manchester’s boroughs to bring our citizens and communities closer to nature and help drive a greener, healthier, and inclusive future. From Dunham Massey in the south, to Northern Roots in Oldham; from Leigh via RHS Bridgewater, Media City on to the foot of the Pennines.”

Mike Innerdale, regional director North of England, National Trust said: “National Trust are firm supporters of CyanLines, not least because its core aim mirrors our own of ensuring more people have access to nature particularly in our towns and cities, and to bring nature to people’s doorsteps wherever they live.

“We recently announced we have secured the majority of the £3 million of funding for the Castlefield Viaduct which will allow us to bring Phase 2 of this iconic sky park project to life, enabling us to create a through route at the heart of the city. We look forward to working with the CyanLines team and other partners as both our projects advance, connecting Castlefield viaduct with the other wonderful spaces in Manchester and Salford city centres.”

To find out more about CyanLines, head HERE.

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Featured image: VirtualPlanit

News

Harry Kane tears up as he honours England’s first Muslim player

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Three Lions skipper Harry Kane teared up as he honoured Djed Spence with an emotional speech on his England debut, becoming the first Muslim player ever to represent the senior national team.

Another historic night for sport in this country.

In case you didn’t tune in, the result against Serbia was a thrilling 5-0 victory, which saw Thomas Tuchel’s side maintain their unbeaten run, with a five-star performance serving as the perfect way to mark five wins from as many fixtures.

But, again, the headline story of the night was Djed Spence celebrating his faith in the best way possible – not to mention England captain Harry Kane paying sincere tribute to the history-making 25-year-old:

As you can see, sharing some heartfelt and inspirational words as a former Lilywhite himself, ‘King’ Kane – who was first given the armband back in 2018 ahead of the Euros – spoke highly of the Tottenham Hotspur star following his inaugural national team cap.

Confessing that he himself felt emotional speaking on behalf of Spence, the 32-year-old striker recalled first seeing the wing-back arrive at Spurs just a few short years ago before his eventual departure for Bayern Munich in 2023.

He also shared, “I know what it takes to get here”, and saw what it took on his end to make those same steps forward in his career and ultimately break into the England squad, adding, “credit to you and your family – you deserve this, mate.”

As for the former Nottingham Forest defender himself, writing on social media, Spence said: “Today is arguably the greatest and proudest day of my life. Honoured to make my England debut.

“A day I’ve dreamt of all my life and now has become a reality. GOD IS THE GREATEST! #GODSPEED“

While there have been many individuals from the Islamic faith throughout the footballing pyramid and, indeed, the FA‘s national team youth ranks over the years, Djed Spence becoming the first senior capped Muslim player in our country’s history is nothing short of an incredible milestone.

Speaking to the media after the game, which also saw Harry Kane surpass Sir Bobby Moore as England’s fifth-most capped player of all-time (now on 109), the London-born athlete admitted: “I was surprised because I didn’t know I was the first, so it’s a blessing.

“It’s good to make history and hopefully inspire young kids around the world that they can make it as well. They can do what I am doing.”

Here’s hoping he can fly the flag for British Muslims throughout domestic football and help generate further impact on the sporting world beyond that.

You can see the highlights from the game here.

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Featured Images — England (via IG/X)

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