New community garden under construction at Salford Quays as part of waterfront’s sustainable green corridor revamp

Work has begun on a new green space at Salford Quays as part of the council’s bid to address biodiversity and climate change issues.

The garden is being constructed on spare land south of the Salford Watersports Centre and it is hoped that the revamp will provide resistance to the impacts of climate change for the next 30 years.

With the area currently unused, Salford council’s Rangers team are working with local architects and residents as part of their Greenfingers Project.

The rangers team and local volunteers will also be in charge of sustaining the garden over its lifetime and will work together to develop planting and designs.

A spokesperson for the council told the Northern Quota: “The idea of the Ranger’s Greenfingers project is to work with volunteers to help residents take ownership of planting beds.

“They help choose the plants, plant them and help to look after the beds in the future.

“It was clear that residents love the mix between water and green land in Salford Quays, so the development of this garden is part of Salford Council’s new vision for the Quays.”

Further work to the area includes the management of several trees on the land.

The removal of 23 of the area’s 42 trees allows the remaining trees to grow to full maturity and prevent overlapping, as well as opening up a lighter and more accessible space that is more appealing for all.

Councillor Mike McCusker spoke to NQ about the importance of changing the land’s layout and how these changes will adapt to the growing threat of climate change.

“The trees that were planted originally were all the same species,” he said.

“What can happen is that they start impacting on each other, so by introducing different species of plants we’re hoping that they are more sustainable and more adaptable to climate change.”

Councillor McCusker also addressed the lack of use of the land in its current form, speaking about how the new garden will be more useful for residents.

“We’re going to change the shrubbery and have more herbaceous, perennial plants that will create a much more colourful community space for residents.

“Salford is really lucky that 60% of our space is green, and we do have some amazing green spaces but we need to focus on really localised areas that can sort of act as a back garden for people when they need it.

“This garden is going to be really important for those who live in flats in the Quays area as community space is really good for mental health.”

Work has been taking place on the garden for the past two weeks and is expected to be completed by the end of March.

Detailed proposals for the regeneration of the area can be found on Salford Council’s website under the Planning, building and regeneration section.