Whilst for many whom are focused solely on economic growth and new emerging affluent communities this will be viewed as positive and a hoorah for all the investment that has been made by the money men.
But for me with my critical eye it's a far cry from the lives of many local people for whom the gentrification and rapid development of the area is having a negative impact - on the very edge of these eye catching, grandeous developments are disadvantaged and neglected communities, that lack access to basic services, families already crippled by the cost of living being priced out of the area as fancy supermarkets crop up and more new developments threaten to close essential stores to replace them with upmarket artisan shops and apartments for young professionals from across the UK.
Young people who lack access to basic spaces to play football as the local pitch is chained up and rented out to Premier league clubs for training and outreach. The same young people who are demonised and criminalised if they go over to Salford Quays looking for fun or something to do, who see all of this development and recognise sadly its not for them.
The grim reality is that Salford has terrible mortality rares, already has poor air quality because of traffic which is only made worse by more commuters and is in the midst of a housing epidemic that has seen over 600 children forced to live in temporary accomodation, often in one room together with their family, without cooking equiptment, without any luxuries like televisions or even kettles, far from their friends and schools, as there is no adequate housing available and everything is too expensive. The crisis is so bad we have seen tents outside the town hall, people turned away from housing options and told to sleep in cars and on streets because they are not vulnerable enough.
This absolute erosion of our health, our lives and our communities is one of the biggest contributing factors as to why we also have such a problem with Poverty and Inequality in the City. This picture and these statements for me are a stark visual reminder of the deeply entrenched Inequality we battle with daily. With every new development another chunk of our City is lost and the proud memories of our heritage and hardwork crumble to dust like our ancestors who built this City with their own bare and dirty hands.
Theres nothing to celebrate until we are all thriving - not just the elite and the affluent. #Salford
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It’s official. Salford ranks as the third best regional city to live in the UK – making it the top pick in the north of England as revealed by exclusive research by The Telegraph and Savills earlier this month.
The study looked at the best combination of value for money and high standard of living with the development of MediaCity, cultural attractions such as The Lowry, Imperial War Museum North and its educational powerhouse The University of Salford all cited. Salford is a greener city than most with 60% made up of natural space with the report hailing ‘the riverbank along the Irwell and Kersal Wetlands, once the old Manchester racecourse, which was left to rewild and is now a bird and wildlife sanctuary’. Not forgetting the tranquil waterways of the Bridgewater Canal and the inspiring and uplifting RHS Garden Bridgewater on the site of Worsley New Hall which opened to great acclaim in May 2021.
We’ve always known Salford is sprinkled with stardust even before the arrival of the BBC, ITV, Corrie’s famous cobbles and dock10 which beams out many of the nation’s favourite TV shows. It boasts a raft of illustrious musicians with Salford sons behind Britain’s most iconic bands including New Order and Joy Division, Tim Burgess (lead singer of the Charlatans) and Peter Hook of Factory Records fame.
The successful regeneration of the Manchester Ship Canal’s landbanks along the Quays as well as dock 9 and dock 10 has certainly contributed to raising Salford’s profile nationally. However, it would be misplaced for MediaCity to take all the glory. Salford is inherently blessed with all the ingredients required to make a place great - heritage, culture and beautiful wide, open spaces and, of course its people. This is what makes Salford, Salford will always be number one in our eyes.
#MediaCity #Salford #Heritage #Culture #Greenspaces #bestregionalcities
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It looks fantastic!