Salford, Muse seek views on Eccles regeneration
Having formed a partnership in July and won £2.75m from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for town centre redevelopment in May, the council and placemaker are now inviting residents to help shape proposals.
Salford City Council and Muse want to hear from stakeholders, including businesses, as the partnership begins drawing up a masterplan for the town centre, which it hopes to finalise by May 2026.
The masterplan will aim to take advantage of Salford’s growth and the town’s position as a strategic gateway connecting MediaCity, Salford Quays, and Manchester city centre to Trafford, the Western Gateway, and the wider west of Salford.
Housing will be included in the masterplan to bring life and energy back into Eccles town centre and provide a boost to local businesses.
- View the consultation here.
Current proposals centre around four key locations:
St Mary’s Garden
The partnership is exploring how to sensitively improve the central garden that surrounds the grade one-listed St Mary’s Church. Changes would acknowledge its current use as a place of quiet reflection and seek to maintain that, while also strengthening the gardens as a peaceful, welcoming space.
Vicarage Gardens
A proposed housing development would establish the area as a revitalised gateway into Eccles, while movement across the town centre would be made safer by introducing traffic calming measures along Albert Street and improving connections from Monton.
Peel Street could return to a two-way street, which the partnership says would reduce the dominance of the ring road to create a more balanced transport environment for all.
Vicarage Grove
The public realm leading up to Eccles train station is also expected to get a makeover. Accessibility, safety, and active travel improvements would complement a greening effort, in a bid to make the approach more welcoming.
Church Street and Regent Street
The partnership notes that there is a large number of heritage buildings along these two main streets and hopes to take advantage of their potential to revitalise the town’s centre.
Enhancements to public spaces along both streets, improving the experience for people walking between the bus, tram, and train stations, and reimagining the area outside the library and town hall as a new civic square would help to create a safer, more people-focused environment that celebrates the town’s heritage.
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Provisional plans also indicate the allocation of plots for future development south of the town’s bus station could reconnect the heart of Eccles to the waterside of the Manchester Ship Canal.
The four-week consultation period is dotted with several in-person events on 23, 25, and 30 October, with chances to speak to the project team.
Cllr Mike McCusker, lead member for planning, transport, and sustainable development at Salford City Council, said: “Eccles is a town with a proud heritage and exciting potential.
“The masterplan, once developed with community voices at its heart, will create new homes and spaces that residents can enjoy and be proud of for decades to come.
“Whether you work or live in the town, I’d urge everyone with a stake in Eccles to attend one of the drop-in events or join the public webinar and share your views to help shape the future of the town centre.”
The feedback will build on the Eccles Vision set out after a round of conversations with local stakeholders in 2022.
Three themes comprise the Eccles Vision: the creation of a place to ‘eat, meet, and play’, redevelopment that is sensitive to both the environment and heritage, and maximising the use of the town’s transport assets.
Alex Vogel, senior development manager at Muse, said: “Muse is thrilled to be partnering with Salford City Council to deliver real, meaningful change for Eccles.
“We are at the very early stages of our plans and building on the work that has already been undertaken to develop the Eccles Vision and want to understand more about the specific wants and needs that the community would like to see brought forward.
“This initial community conversation led by the partnership is an important step in helping us deliver a town centre that reflects what local people want, while celebrating local businesses and enhancing the historic character of Eccles.”
Good to see Eccles’ potential given some practical expression, like it!
By WayFay
Looks promising, especially the proposals to extend the town centre south towards the ship canal. IMO Eccles was killed when that filthy motorway was smashed through the middle of it, severing it from Ellesmere Park to the north. Close the horrendous motorway junction and Gilda Brook Roundabout and narrow the motorway considerably – you’d be able to quad-track the railway into Manchester and introduce more frequent trains from Eccles station, heralding a return to more traditional modes of transport instead of dirty, stinky cars.
By Anonymous
Said it before Eccles the next to boom. Has all the fundamentals and now getting the investment
By Bob
We need a better variety of shops and a market, as well as a body to encourage visitors to return to Eccles. It’s no good just providing more and more housing, without increasing schools and doctors which the area also needs.
By Ian
..is it me.. or is the development essentially.. wipe out the entire town the other side of Morrisons.. some of it does need wiping out.. they destroyed parts of it long ago.. it’s another rough town though.. with a lot of deprevation and non working people.. are they going to stay?
By Anonymous
Add a bypass along the canal and you’re cooking on gas!
By Anonymous
Hope it works
By Anonymous
Where are these drop in sessions about Eccles to take place?
By Gill Collins
The people of Eccles need clothing, green groceries, all the facilities that town living requires to generate a lively vibrant centre for people to congregate.
By [email protected]
What about revitalising Swinton town centre it’s like a ghost town especially at evening where the precinct is gated early there are no pubs or restaurants in the vicinity considering Salford town hall is at its prominence where is our council tax being spent because we are getting no social activity whatsoever
By Anonymous
Please can we introduce clothes shops, shoe shops and stores that don’t require going to Trafford centre. I liked Eccles and West One back in 2002-8 when we had really good stores like Next, super drug, Adams, designer warehouse etc…get rid of some of the public houses and betting shops and tacky pound shops.
By Anonymous
Why can’t you see Aldi in the picture? It’s an advantage to live near Aldi, it has to stay that way. And I think if they started cleaning the sidewalks, it would look new too.
By Pavel Drobny
Another undeliverable scheme by the PR company
By Susan
Cover the highway, you get space for two lanes that would relieve traffic + you get a place to rest near a new high-rise building. I think it’s the only solution for transportation.
By Pavel Drobny
The market was opened and has lasted just 20 years. The town centre suffered when the new Safeway adjacent to the tram halt once built became Morrison and so the existing Morrison closed and that was the anchor for the precinct. The other main problem is the retail warehouse park north of the town centre – where the parking is free.
By Saturn
According to the picture there is no future for Valtris Chemicals (Lankro). Have they been informed yet ?
By Anonymous
Some people are calling for shops to return to Eccles centre. But the greengrocer, butchers, fish monger, shoe shops, market etc etc closed because not enough people bought things there. They closed because they couldn’t make money. A local council can’t do anything about that. It’s up to people and their shopping habits.
By Anonymous