Stakeholders have welcomed a new vision for Salford Quays unveiled in a council document.
The 2030 vision for Salford Quays that is centred around “creating a people-centred vision that seeks to celebrate the areas successes and its past.”
The vision aims to define the ‘unique and valued’ parts of the Quays, but also areas that need to be shaped and invested in.
Councillor and City of Salford Walking and Cycling Champion, Jake Rowland, discussed the new cycling routes coming to the quays whilst discussing the Bee Network cycle hire scheme.
He said: “[The new routes] are for making it easier for cyclists to get around and walkers too, centred largely around the safety and separation from road traffic.”
Richard Nickson, programme director for cycling and walking at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “Salford has one of the biggest cycling schemes in Greater Manchester and they are really cracking on with at least six schemes on-site at the moment and so there’s a huge amount of transformation coming.
“What it means for us as Greater Manchester, is that walking and cycling routes and our cycling hire scheme is an integral component of our BEE network vision. We want to get people healthier and more active by giving them an opportunity to ride a bike, for work, pleasure or tourism” Mr Nickson stated.
Stakeholders involved in an initial consultation included a mix of public and private sector stakeholders in Salford, Trafford and Manchester; political stakeholders; residents; major attractions; and major businesses working from Salford Quays across culture, sport, technology, media, education, retail and the visitor destination sectors.
Concerns noted in the report include a rise in anti-social behaviour, particularly since the 2020 Summer lockdown.
Residents and employees of Salford Quays have welcomed the news and told us what it means to them.
Daniel Walsh, an employee of Vertigo plant-based eatery Media City said: “[The Quays are] a place where everyone can feel included, completely safe and where everyone can be themselves and celebrate their own cultures without being judged or criticised.
The document shares five principles that the vision is structured around, one of these includes creating “A place dedicated to wellbeing.”
Asking Mr Walsh how he hopes this will be achieved he said: “Health and wellbeing can be celebrated with community events. I think it would be a big thing, it doesn’t have to be extravagant or anything like that but some way that media city can have the local communities coming together and form some sort of activity.”
The vision has been made with environmental and sustainability in mind, “specifically in terms of how people arrive and move around the area” the report states.
A resident of Salford Quays, Lewis Campbell-Thompson, hopes the vision celebrates the unique characteristics and helps the quays become an even more inviting place.
He said: “I love the attention to aesthetics in Media city. It makes you actually feel proud enough to want to take a photo of the view every chance you get, that’s something you won’t get everywhere.”
The full report of the vision is here
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