Manchester's newest park, Mayfield, will open this week in a 'momentous' day for the city.
The official opening of the park has been a closely-guarded secret by bosses, but today (September 20) the Manchester Evening News can exclusively reveal the public will be able to start enjoying the 6.5 acre space in just a matter of days. Work on the park has been ongoing for the past 18 months. Thursday (September 22) will mark the opening of the city centre’s first new public park in more than 100 years.
“September 22 is a momentous day for Mayfield, and Manchester,” Martyn Evans, Creative Director of developers U+I, said. “The greatest cities in the world offer a true blend of amazing culture, great architecture and green space. Manchester is one such city and Mayfield Park adds a significant piece of new, family-friendly, inclusive greenspace to the city centre.”
Thursday’s opening ceremony will see an official ribbon-cutting from Manchester city council leader Bev Craig. She says the park has ‘true transformational potential’ for the Mayfield area of the city, which was formerly an industrial zone.
Coun Craig continued: “There are some projects that feel so momentous in the development story of our city that we look forward to them with great anticipation. Mayfield Park is one of those developments - a project that has true transformational potential for this part of our city.
"It's with excitement then that we can look ahead to the official opening of the city centre's first public park in 100 years later this week. We know the massive health and well-being benefits that green spaces can have for our residents and increasing access to parks for our residents is a key priority for us. Mayfield will be a 6.5 acre oasis at the heart of our city.
"Green investment is fundamental to our wider ambitions to improve air quality and underpins our work to strengthen Manchester's resilience to climate change. Mayfield is a park first and foremost, but it is also a statement that development in the city can and should celebrate green spaces to become a focal point in our communities.
"Importantly, Mayfield also represents a significant economic boost for Manchester. The partnership has shopped local when procuring contractors to make sure that employment opportunities have benefited local companies and local people first. During the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, it's this type of development that provides the jobs that our residents need - and makes sure Manchester people continue to share in the success of our city."
After years of regeneration work, the park will feature a huge children’s play area, festival-grade turf to host live events, and sits next to the ever-popular bar Escape To Freight Island.
Mayfield Park’s main entrance on Baring Street will open to the public at 12.30pm on Thursday September, 22. From then on it will be open from dawn until dusk, seven days a week.
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