Developer given permission to close 300-year-old public footpath in Salford
A developer has been given permission to close a 300-year-old riverside footpath and divert pedestrians through a back street or through a hotel lobby in what critics say is the latest egregious example of the privatisation of public space.
Campaigners in Greater Manchester have made an 11th-hour attempt to stop the path by the River Irwell being shut, saying citizens had a “fundamental right” to walk along the river, which “should not be sacrificed for private gain”.
The contested path is in Salford’s rapidly gentrifying Blackfriars neighbourhood, right on the border with Manchester. It runs opposite the glitzy Spinningfields district, home to Manchester’s branch of celebrity restaurant The Ivy and numerous financial and legal institutions.
The development, known as Ralli Quays, will see government office buildings demolished to make way for an office complex and a 16-storey, 260-bed hotel. It was approved in January by Salford councillors despite widespread public opposition, though the path cannot be closed until approval is granted from the Department for Transport.
Councillors accepted claims from architects employed by the developer, Legal & General, that it was too “difficult” to maintain and restore the existing right of way, which runs 207 metres along the Irwell at various heights.
The developers also argued that the existing path, which has not been fully accessible for some time, “seemed to be used by rough sleepers”.
Instead, the new public footpath will run along a parallel sidestreet with no river view, with an additional “permissive path” granted alongside the river’s terrace and through the hotel lobby.
Permissive paths are often controversial because the landowner can withdraw access at anytime.
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