Salford to rubber stamp Chapel Wharf strategy 

A framework covering a 47-acre swathe of the city centre is to be adopted in a bid to address the “clear lack of a cohesive vision for the area” and prevent development opportunities being squandered. 

Salford City Council claims not having a formal framework for the Chapel Wharf area puts the city at risk of losing investment and strategic growth opportunities, according to a report to the authority’s regeneration committee. 

The idea behind the Chapel Wharf development framework, due to be adopted next Monday, is to provide a coherent approach to potential future land use, adopt the principles of a 15-minute neighbourhood, and ensure that the area becomes a “successful and vibrant community”, the report states. 

Optimised Environments, Savills and Civic Engineers have drawn up the Chapel Wharf framework for Salford City Council, which outlines the development opportunities in the area over the next 15-20 years. 

The masterplan area  

The site is bound by Trinity Way to the north, the River Irwell to the south, Bridge Street to the west, and is intersected by the railway line connecting Salford Central with Manchester Victoria stations. 

In the east, the masterplan area stretches to Blackfriars Road but does not encompass the neighbouring Greengate area, which already has a development framework in place. 

It does, however, incorporate some land beyond Blackfriars, including the Travelodge and Premier Inn hotels on Chapel Street.  

What is proposed?  

The key objectives for the regeneration of Chapel Wharf include:  

• Reactivating underused railway arches   
• Creating an “accessible, high-quality riverside environment” along the Irwell  

• Making Chapel Street and other major roads in the zone more user-friendly and inviting for pedestrians by introducing walking and cycling routes  
• Connecting the burgeoning areas of Greengate and New Bailey 
• Supplying a more diverse mix of homes.  

Optimised Environments, Savills and Civic Engineers have drawn up the draft development framework. Credit: OP-EN

The strategy also outlines various development opportunities in the area.  

These include:  

• The residential redevelopment of the Travelodge  
• The creation of a pedestrian route to serve the reanimated arches  
• The redevelopment of Deva Business Park and !Audacious Church sites into a residential neighbourhood.  

In the longer term, a clutch of offices around Browncross Street to the west of the site could be the subject of “more radical” redevelopment opportunities.  

This could see partial or complete demolition of existing buildings, resulting in the creation of an improved office-led development with some residential included, according to the masterplan. 

Catalyst projects  

Chapel Vaults – a plan to open up and reactivate railway arches along Chapel Street and install unique occupiers to create a vibrant mixed-use boulevard. The project is described in the draft masterplan as “a rich and characterful environment to be experienced, not simply a barrier to pass through or an edge to activate. A setting and offer that is defining for the area”.  

Re-imagined Riverside – this proposal would see a green gateway created around Trinity Bridge, connecting through to Dearmans Place and Chapel Street. 

Flat Iron Square – The junction connecting Blackfriars and Chapel Street, where “pedestrians sit at the lowest order of the movement hierarchy”, is to be revamped to provide a less vehicle-dominant environment.  

Trinity Gateway – This scheme proposes “softening” the barrier of the city centre inner relief route between Chapel Wharf and the neighbourhoods to the north. Interventions include a direct, pedestrian and cycle crossing across Trinity Way connecting Chapel Wharf with Frederick Street.