News

12 August 2005
£8 million canal route comes to Salford

City bosses in Salford are backing the ambitious £8 million Bridgewater Way to transform access to the Bridgewater Canal.

Councillors have approved £75,000 city council funding for the first phase of work in the city, the total cost of which will be £250,000. Work on the 1.1 mile Barton Aqueduct to Green Lane section will be carried out next year.

A further 6.7 mile Salford stretch, from Patricroft through Worsley to the Salford/Wigan border, is pencilled in to be complete by 2011.

People using wheelchairs, prams and cycles will be able to travel the whole 39 miles of the canal through Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside once work is complete in 2011, the 250th anniversary of the opening of the canal.

The upgraded towpath will include a re-surfaced towpath, information points, improved access and will introduce public art to the waterside. It is hoped that some phases, including those in Salford, will be incorporated into the National Cycle Network currently being promoted by Sustrans, the national charity that promotes safer routes to school.

Construction of other phases has already begun in Halton, Merseyside, and completion of the scheme, pioneered by the Bridgewater Trust and canal owners the Manchester Ship Canal Company, will see eight local authorities, team up with a wide range of other organisations including the Arts Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, Mersey Basin Campaign and the North West Development Agency.

Benefits predicted to follow include 500,000 annual visitors, net annual income of £6 million to local economies along the canal route, reduced crim and improved safety along with the creation of almost 250 new jobs.

Said Mike Butterworth, property director of Peel Holdings: "The towpath has become underused and neglected is a hidden asset which has gthe potential to connect communities and bring economic benefits across the region, whle conserving and enhancing this historic feature of the Northwest."

Added Councillor Derek Antrobus, Salford City Council's lead member for planning: "The Bridgewater Way is an ambitious and significant scheme, and we are delighted to be able to help progress this now. Salford's waterways are a crucial feature of the city's past and its future, and it's our job to make sure we invest in them now."

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