CyanLines £100m walkways to resurrect Manchester’s waterways
Routes have been revealed for the 100-mile walking and wheeling network, which may eventually stretch from Dunham Massey as far as the foothills of the Pennines.
The £100m scheme has been proposed by a combination of public and private sector partners in the city.
It aims to revitalise Manchester’s parks, squares, rivers, canals, and viaducts by connecting them along a range of green corridors, eventually spanning across Greater Manchester.
CyanLines is expected to reach the 100-mile mark within a decade, though a timeframe for work to begin has not yet been set.
A degree of funding for the £100m scheme has been secured, but further efforts to raise cash for the project are needed.
CyanLines’ founding public sector partners are Manchester City Council, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the National Trust, and Factory International.
Private sector partners on board are Landsec, Bruntwood, Renaker, Urban Splash, FEC, Property Alliance Group, and Allied London.
CyanLines has said it expects to work with the Canal and River Trust to clean up the city’s waterways. Credit: CyanLines
The scheme’s co-founders are Urban Splash chair Tom Bloxham and Planit co-founder Pete Swift. It was first teased in early August, when a launch date was set.
Proposals are a mix of large-scale interventions, from constructing bridges and platforms to smaller, local changes, such as installing planters and greening streets.
The first four pilot CyanLines include routes from:
- Victoria Station and NOMA to Queens Park
- Mayfield, New Islington, and Ancoats Loop
- St Peter’s Square to Whitworth Park
- Irwell and Castlefield Loop
The pilot routes are expected to be the first of many. Credit: CyanLines
Pete Swift, co-founder and chief executive 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 a starting point for a whole plethora of CyanLines projects, which will bring new opportunities for nature to thrive and be enjoyed.
“[CyanLines] 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.”
Routes could eventually run through from Dunham Massey, Oldham’s Northern Roots, Leigh, RHS Bridgewater, and Media City.
The plan would utilise the city’s existing assets, such as Mayfield Park, New Islington Marina, Ancoats Green, and the Castlefield Viaduct, and integrate them into the routes.
Funding for the project has been secured by Manchester and Salford City Councils from the National Trust, Natural England, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
CyanLines will also work closely with the Canal and River Trust, which is responsible for the condition of the River Irwell and Manchester’s canal network – though “nothing specific” has been agreed between the parties.
A spokesperson for CyanLines, said, “One of the CyanLines missions will be to look at our existing green and blue corridors and work with residents, landowners, and businesses to make them every bit as good as our city, residents, and visitors deserve, including working with partners around areas that need improvement.”
Tom Bloxham, project co-founder and chair of CyanLines, said: “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.”
Martyn Evans, creative director of Landsec, called the River Medlock, Salford Docks, and the Manchester Ship Canal “extraordinary natural resources” that would be “front and centre” of the proposals.
He added: “CyanLines will connect Manchester and wider boroughs through the beauty of its natural resources, creating immeasurable opportunities for people in our communities to live healthier, more fulfilling lifestyles.”
The routes will be for both pedestrians and wheelers. Credit: CyanLines
Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, added: “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. We will be making even more exciting announcements in the months to come about what this means for our city.”
A volunteer group, ‘Friends of CyanLines’, would also be established to maintain and market the routes.
Manchester City Council is supporting and coordinating all CyanLines activity while it explores governance and delivery options.
In 2008, the now-extinct North West Development Agency proposed plans for a waterfront Irwell City Park, which then had a completion date of April 2010.
This is a very positive proposal for the whole of the city region but the first announcement of doing something should be to take advantage of the drained Rochdale Canal and ask for volunteers and landowners adjoining it to come forward and to clean it up while there is no water in it. After all “CyanLines has said it expects to work with the Canal and River Trust to clean up the city’s waterways”.
By Anonymous
Incredible proposals. This is what Manchester has been crying out for for decades.
If they can deliver this across GM, and fix the trains. GM will be truly worth all the lauding.
Central Manchester residents deserve this particularly, the council has received dream levels of new development payments and has experienced a huge increase in top level council tax payees. It’s only right that this should be visibly invested back into the city centre.
By Anonymous
Over complicated, over crowded and just very messy (appreciate it may be just artistic license and conceptual on those images). The river scape is already incredibly congested as it is.. there is no need to have so much crammed into it – Keep the circulation space to the Salford / Lowry side (you already have pockets of river frontage at Spinningfields) and give nature a side of the river to establish itself. Add in some floating islands for the birds, encourage aquatic foliage – I don’t see how having narrow walkways detached from riverside is anything but an opportunity for people being mugged or assaulted.
By Anonymous
Looks smart this, well done. Be nice if we could have some real vision over in LCR.
By L17
Excellent if it happens! Hopefully tied in with lots of biodiversity improvements as well. Although there is the ongoing and massive issue of water companies spilling sewage, as well as agricultural runoff into our rivers, and until that’s sorted I can’t see many people wanting to actually use river water recreationally.
By JR
This is a fantastic project
By H
Desperately needed. The canals and rivers in the city centre are grim. Should hopefully bring some life to them again and might make people take pride in where they live. These blue areas are such an underrated part of a city that need to be properly nurtured and looked after
By Anonymous
Love this! We do need a nice and safe walking route across the riverside. Please add good lighting and cctv cameras and some security to make people feel safe.
By Anonymous
I’m more bothered by the graffiti further out on the Bridgewater and Ashton Canals – it’s a mess and contributes to sense of run-down/abandonment. The problem is completely out of control and no action is taken against these vandals. It would be welcome if these proposals tackle that problem as they just undo the good work in one swoop.
By Anonymous
My issue is, that it makes the already slim river even slimmer. We need to cut some of the plant life out.
By Vader
Best article I’ve read for ages and should be Manchester’s top priority.
By Anonymous
You’ll always get the odd moaner but this has to be positive thing for the city and indeed the whole region.
By Anonymous
I’ll believe it when I see it.
I won’t be seeing it.
By Bernard Fender
@12:56 pm By Anonymous – With reason, I’d add. Nothing said that isn’t valid.
By Moaner
Great proposal. Ordsall footbridge has shown the city is screaming out for more interconnected pedestrian routes. Hope to see this fully realised!
By Anonymous
How can someone take the time to moan about this?
Yes it’s narrow in some sections, but those sections are currently not utilised or looked at positively already. This project will help people engage with the river, make them want to use it, take pride and help maintain it. Where there are pockets of open space, these should be turned into parks. And of course, new developments should be set back from the river and link onto the route/provide funding accordingly.
By Get a grip
Great stuff. Needs appropriate lighting throughout the routes to enable them to be used at all times of day. The need for a footbridge across the Ship Canal to connect Ordsall to Cornbrook is dire and hopefully if I’m reading the map correctly, this is included in the proposals. Looking forward to this!
By Daniel
Brilliant
Chapeau
Let’s do it !
By Chris Dyson
They weren’t able to roll out a clean air zone so I’m not holding out any hope. The first thing they should tackle is clearing the trash from the River Irwell & Medlock
By Peter
This looks like a fantastic project. The key to it’s success is the longterm management and maintenance of all the routes.
By Anonymous
The routes “may eventually stretch from Dunham Massey as far as the foothills of the Pennines”.
How incredible would that be? A tourist attraction and the biggest missing attribute that Manchester city centre currently lacks – access to its bounding green space that is some of the best the country has to offer.
By Anonymous
Every time I walk over that bridge I think it’s crying out for it. Fantastic!
By Tom
Visit any big city and they know how to look after their river frontage(s). Time we did. Great idea. Devil is in the detail but ultimately time we celebrated our waterways instead of them mostly being a neglected dump.
By Inspirational Creature
I can’t see any reason why anyone wouldn’t be positive about this proposal.
Sure it’s ambitious, but aim high and even if only 50-70% is delivered it would still be great for the region.
Maintenance and security need to be high on the list of priorities as mentioned by others (hopefully having private sector partners involved may help with that)
By Anonymous
Brilliant!!! Every day I have the time and desire to walk 100 miles – just what I’ve always wanted!
By The Proclaimers
It won’t be without its challenges but what that’s worthwhile isn’t? Manchester is fortunate to have talented people like Tom Bloxham and a council ready to work with so many big developers based there but let’s do this elsewhere too! There isn’t a city that wouldn’t benefit from this kind of joined up thinking.
By Anonymous
Fantastic vision and would love this to happen. My concern is it is too much of a leap in terms of cost from where we are at now & doesn’t get off the ground.
This type of thing should be an absolute priority for Manchester. Need things like this to make the city more attractive for locals and visitors. A city the size and prominence of Manchester should be making a lot more of its extensive waterways & green spaces.
However – would suggest on simplifying to get off the ground. Introduce/improve signage to promote walkways. Tidy up/improve/maintain current paths, walls, barriers/fencing on the river/canal banks.
My worry is such a grand vision doesn’t get funded and nothing happens rather than start off with basic improvements that would be highly impactful.
A lot to be said for maintenance and cleaning.
By G
The money could be better used.
By Malcolm Etty
Be lovely if it got off paper and into reality. Many modern European cities have their river’s as great attractions, frontage and places of activity. Manchester always turned it’s back on its Rivers….be great to 🛞 that around
By Don cheglioni
Finally 😃 great news for out water courses.
Now we need GMCA to force UU and the other polluters to stop using our rivers has a open sewer.
By Rivermartin
Another opportunity for biodiversity squandered
By Anonymous
This is really great! Hope this triggers a big push to green the city
By Anonymous
Great idea. Would have to be well lit at night for safety.
By Anonymous