Campaigners and locals have banded together to stop the closure of a 300-year-old pathway alongside the River Irwell in Salford.
Residents and local activists have been campaigning against the ‘warped logic’ to close a section of the walkway behind the Ralli Quays on Stanley Street which has been left to ruin. The closure of the path comes as property and investment giants Legal & General plan to build a multi-million pound multi-storey office and hotel block which would see the right of way along the River Irwell be erased.
Salford Council are in favour of the proposal and see the development ‘significantly expanding’ the city’s public realm and ‘not losing it’. Council officials say the matter pertains to decisions made 15 years ago to create ‘Irwell City Park’, a large stretch of waterfront connecting Manchester, Salford City Centre, Salford Quays and Trafford Wharfside. However, designers were met with ‘physical constraints’ regarding the built environment around the tow path.
