Rhs Bridgewater 3

RHS Garden Bridgewater to benefit from road and cycle links

Proposals for around 540,000 sq ft of road upgrades and other transport infrastructure to serve the £30m RHS Garden Bridgewater have been lodged, ahead of the scheme’s expected completion in July.

Salford City Council’s planning application proposes upgrading, resurfacing and widening roads around the 154-acre garden, which has been touted as the largest gardening project in Europe, as well as building an additional canal towpath, along with walkways, cycleways and road crossings to improve links to the site.

The full list of proposed transport improvements includes:

  • A traffic-free cycle route and footpath along the northern towpath of the Bridgewater Canal linking Worsley and Boothstown to the RHS Garden Bridgewater site. This involves installing a shared-use path connecting the towpath to the RHS site via a ramp and steps, according to the plans
  • A north-to-south road from the RHS Garden Bridgewater to Walkden Station and the car-free route
  • Enhanced links to public transport facilities, including linking to the A580 Guided Busway and Walkden Station
  • Crossings provided on the A580, Leigh Road, Walkden Road, Barton Road, Occupation Lane and Birch Road
  • A 1.5-mile canal towpath running north of the Bridgewater Canal
  • Way-marker posts along the route
  • Widened existing walkways

The application is intended to help the council build sustainable walking and cycling lanes to and from the RHS Bridgewater site, and connect Walkden, Worsley and Boothstown. Construction of this transport infrastructure is anticipated to take nine months.

The scheme sits close to Salford’s traffic-free walking and cycling paths but does not currently link to it. The proposal calls for the creation and improvement of linkages and support highways works that are not part of this application, but form part of the overall RHS development.

A primary access junction into the site from Leigh Road has already been completed and improvement works to junction 13 started in January, the council said.

Rhs Bridgewater 6

Bam Construction is already on site delivering the 154-acre garden on behalf of the Royal Horticultural Society, and Arcadis is managing the project. RHS Bridgewater gained planning permission for the site, which is part of the former Worsley Old Hall to the west of Worsley Village, in May 2017.  The project will form part of a 10-year £160m investment programme announced by the RHS in 2015.

Delivery of the project marks the first new RHS Garden in 17 years, according to Arcadis.

The application for road improvements would be the final phase of off-site highway works. There is an underlying “ethos is to provide people with a safe and attractive to accessing the site by car, thereby promoting sustainable travel choices for short trips and supporting broader objectives for improved health and wellbeing,” said Urban Vision.

“The key driver underpinning this project is to create new and improved walking and cycling links to the RHS Bridgewater site through the provision of an attractive, safe and high quality integrated route connecting the site to Walkden, Worsley and Boothstown.”

RHS Bridgewater Transport Map

Your Comments

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Well, fingers crossed they pave the footpaths and cycleways. So many in GM seem to just be gravel or dirt… or in our weather, mud. How hard can it be to pave footpaths and cycleways?

By EOD

@EOD – Yes, the paths are proposed to be surfaced as per the spec of the rest of the upgraded towpath along the Bridgewater Canal, i.e. bitmac with a durable and attractive tar and chip surface dressing.

By Cycopath

What a complete waste of time

By Anonymous

A good start to better links here. Now to remove the M60 and make it a cycle superhighway 🙂

By Disgruntled Goat

@Anonymous, what a useless point of view. Just stating something is a complete waste of time without any explanation as to why. Essentually, your post was a complete waste of time. And space. An oposing opinion is fine, but give logical context behind it or it is just useless.

By EOD

Considering a lot of the locals are whinging about additional vehicle trips generated by the proposed development, providing decent cycle infrastructure so people are less likely to drive seems like time well spent to me.

By L

What about Bridleways? 75 horses stabled 5 mins away and nowhere safe to ride!

By Anonymous

Please don’t pave or tarmac every path, there’s nothing wrong with gravel or mud, get gradely boots!

By Anonymous

Regarding the route through Parr Fold Park. Why does the path have to cut through and dig up the big field? Surely it would be easier and cheaper to just upgrade the existing path that runs along the other side of the rockery area.

By Anon

More needs to be done to improve public transport in the area especially along sleigh rd and For Boothstown.

By Lorraine

Bridal way access has been reduced presently with this development it would be nice to see it reinstated

By Vicci

Does anybody know how I submit my request to Salford City Council regarding the inclusion of bridleway routes. It’s not bringing anything up on the planning application section on the website!

By Karen Boardman

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