A popular park in Salford that’s home to its very-own ‘Secret Garden’ is to get long-awaited £680,000 transformation.
Salford City Council has confirmed that Islington Park is soon to be upgraded to provide “a green oasis for nearby residents”, as well as make walking and cycling through it easier, and to join it to the Greater Manchester ‘Bee Network’ – which will be the largest network of off-road walking and cycling routes in the UK when it’s complete.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has awarded Salford City Council a total of £683,249 in funding for the improvements to the city centre public greenspace.
Improvements to the park are aiming to make it “an even more pleasant place to relax”.
“The paths, cycle routes and lighting through the park will be upgraded along with the lawn and an area for pop up events or a café will be added,” explained Councillor Mike McCusker – Lead Member for Planning and Sustainable Development at Salford City Council.
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“More seating will be added, new trees planted to soak up rainfall, more plants including seasonal wildflowers, which will benefit wildlife and landscaping will make it an even more pleasant place to relax”.
“We’re adding cycle parking which includes Salford’s first stands for cargo bikes,” he continued.
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“We have an e-cargo bike library at Manchester Bikes in nearby Chapel Street to help more businesses try a green alternative to deliveries.”
As anyone who has ever been to Islington Park will know well, the park houses a mosaic that was designed by local school children all the way back in 1992 to commemorate Frances Hodgson Burnett – the author of the classic children’s novel, The Secret Garden.
Frances lived nearby as a child before emigrating to America, and published the book in 1911, drawing on her memories of England.
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Salford City Council has been awarded a total of £683,249 in funding for the improvements / Credit: David Dixon (via Geograph)
“Unfortunately, after 30 years of weathering, damage and many, many repairs the mosaic has reached the end of its life but we will preserve parts of it in feature walls, so it lives on for future generations,” Councillor McCusker added.
“We will also work with local children to create new mosaic designs which will be printed on aluminium.”
The works to improve Islington Park are to begin at the end of this moth, and Salford City Council says that, while all nearby footpaths will remain open, the park itself will be closed the period of restoration.
All improvement works are expected to finish in September 2022.
Already being described as “the ultimate African safari experience right here in the UK”, some of the lodges will be located at the side of a lake, while others will offer views of a private savannah-style habitat that are home to Northern giraffes.
Bookings officially went live last Wednesday (29 January), and demand was “nothing short of phenomenal”, with the website crashing for a brief period and more than 550 bookings made so far.
But merely moments after this, people began hitting out at the prices for overnight stays.
Those working on the “very special” project say a stay at The Reserve will help to fund Chester Zoo’s global conservation projects.
Chester Zoo has issued a statement after people slammed the ‘totally ridiculous’ prices for safari-style lodges / Credit: Supplied
In the off-season, prices for the lodges start from £375, while one-night stays in summer start from £672.50, and then in peak season, for the more luxurious lodges, prices can go all the way up to £2,486, but it’s worth nothing that this does include guided safari tours and going behind-the-scenes with the giraffes.
“As an international wildlife charity we wholly rely on public funding to carry out our species-saving work,” a Chester Zoo spokesperson said in defence of the pricing.
“The Reserve is the latest way that people may wish to help to directly fund our global conservation projects and make a difference to the future of some amazing, but sadly endangered, species.
“A stay at The Reserve includes so much more than a room for the night.
“Packages include elements such as a range of exclusive behind-the-scenes and animal experiences, breakfast, dinner and out-of-hours access to the zoo, as well as two-day passes and the chance to view wildlife straight from your lodge balcony.”
Find out more and book your stay in the new lodges on the Chester Zoo website here.
Featured Image – Supplied
News
Three million UK workers will be getting a ‘significant’ pay rise in April
Emily Sergeant
More than three million workers across the UK are set to receive a ‘significant pay boost’ from April, the Government has announced.
Announced as part of last year’s Budget, and in a bid to “put thousands of pounds back in the pockets of working people every year”, the Government has now laid legislation this week that confirms a new National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour, and a new National Minimum Wage of £10 per hour from April onwards.
Ministers say the 6.7% increase to the National Living Wage – which will be worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker – is a “significant step” towards delivering the manifesto commitment to deliver a “genuine” living wage.
On top of this, the National Minimum Wage for 18-20-year-olds is also set to go up by a record increase of £1.40 an hour, which means full-time younger workers eligible for the rate will see their pay boosted by £2,500 a year.
This is the first time the National Living Wage has taken into account the cost of living and inflation.
We are putting more money in your pocket.
From April, millions of working people will get a pay rise.
With the Government’s end goal being to create a single adult wage rate, this increase to both the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage will put an end to age-based wage discrimination, meaning employers can no longer be justified in paying younger workers less for doing the same job as their older colleagues.
The minimum hourly wage for an apprentice is also set to be boosted this year, with an 18-year-old apprentice seeing their minimum hourly pay increase by 18% to £7.55 an hour.
As a result of all of these changes, a further four million workers also could benefit from the positive spill-over impacts of the rate increases.
Three million UK workers will be getting a ‘significant’ pay rise in April / Credit: Pexels
An impact assessment published earlier this week shows that these changes will put around £1.8 billion into the pockets of workers over the next six years, according to the Government.
“The increased income is set to boost financial stability for millions of families and improve spending power which will drive economic growth,” the Government claims.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves commented: “This Government promised a genuine living wage for working people that will support people with the cost of living, creating a workforce that is fit and ready to help us deliver number one mission to growth the economy.
Emily Sergeant -
19th May 2022 
