Our Irwell
This is a temporary webpage to share information about Our Irwell
Latest Our Irwell News:
Dear friends and supporters of Our Irwell
The next Our Irwell meeting will be Tuesday 13th August 6-7.30pm in the community room at Castlefield Viaduct.
Many thanks to the National Trust for use of this wonderful space. Access information and directions are here: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/.../castlefield-viaduct Soft drinks, tea and coffee will be provide. Please let us know if you are coming by emailing OurIrwell@gmail.com so we know we have enough chairs and cups for everyone.
We will be sharing information about our new campaign to restore access across Pomona, a place which I know is dear to many at Our Irwell. We have been working with Martin Hampar of the Peak and Northern Footpath Society (PNFS) and, although it's taken longer than we hoped, we now feel we have a good chance of ensuring a right of way for all to use. To succeed we need people to fill out forms detailing when, where and how they have moved across Pomona in the past and why access to Pomona matters to them. Full details will be shared at the meeting, and we would really appreciate help spreading the word afterwards. There will also be an online session (time tba) for those who can’t come but would like help with the forms.
We will also be sharing other news and developments along the Irwell. There are other ways you can get involved with Our Irwell and and in particular we are asking for your help in other ways:
Please let us know of any blockages, obstacles or problems along The Irwell so we can decide our future focus.
Please also share your favourite places, images and stories connected to the River Irwell. We would like to use these on social media, on flyers and in documents to demonstrate why the river Irwell is so precious. Of course we will credit anything we use (unless you ask to be anonymous).
Thank you as ever for your support, do get in touch if you have any questions, comments or ideas for Our Irwell
Very best wishes
Morag
Chair, Our Irwell
Here's the link to sign up to join the mailing list to get news directly: https://forms.office.com/e/re7Gei7z4b
PREVIOUSLY....
Dear friends and supporters of Our Irwell,
I hope June brings you good things. This newsletter is mostly focused on Salford Council’s proposed new Irwell River Park Connectivity and Movement Strategy. They have asked Our Irwell to comment on this strategy, although it is at a very early stage at the moment. Below is a cut and paste from their correspondence to us. We are sharing it in detail because I know many of you have been asking about the Irwell River Park
From Salford Council:
“Irwell River Park is an 8km stretch of the Irwell Corridor, located within the thriving regeneration areas of MediaCityUK and the Quays, Salford Central, Chapel Wharf, Greengate and Salford Crescent, where regeneration is being guided by long standing Strategic Development Frameworks, Masterplans and Regeneration Strategies.
Planning Guidance for Irwell River Park was originally developed in partnership with Manchester City Council and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council and adopted in March 2008. However, the adoption of this guidance was subsequently followed by the 2008 financial crash, that hindered the progress of delivery. With the current scale of development and investment taking place across City Centre Salford, an updated strategy to guide future development and investment would ensure that the current potential of the area and its opportunities can be maximised.
The document would not be formal planning guidance but would be used along with relevant planning documents to facilitate discussions with developers about the current opportunities to improve connectivity. The strategy would also be used for seeking funding opportunities. This would help to ensure that the area becomes a successful and vibrant community and plays its role in the ongoing transformation of Salford.
In this context, the city council has now appointed a multi-disciplinary team to commence work on a strategy document that will align with the council’s regeneration and growth ambitions for City Centre Salford and the Quays.
Vision
The proposed Irwell River Park Connectivity and Movement Strategy will seek to do the following:
• Provide a clear and sustainable vision for the future of Irwell River Park and adjacent areas. The
vision would recognise the genuine opportunities for the future of the Irwell River Park area, to
create a high quality and distinctive part of City Centre Salford.
• Set out the approach to improving movement along the River Irwell corridor identifying where
links can be made to improve connectivity with adjacent areas.
• Set out, at a strategic level, the future approach to urban design which will contribute to the
creation of new public realm and greenspaces and future enhancements of existing public realm.
• Identify place-making themes and projects associated with green infrastructure, arts and culture,
neighbourhood services, residential and commercial uses and activities.
• Provide a robust and realistic delivery plan setting out a range of short, medium and longer-term
opportunities and actions for the City Council, landowners and other key stakeholders.
Comments to inform the preparation of the strategy
We would welcome any comments which will assist us in preparing the Irwell River Park
Connectivity and Movement Strategy.
We would welcome responses to the following questions:
1) Do you agree with the vision for this area and what the strategy aims to create?
2) What key opportunities and issues do you think the strategy should seek to address?
3) Do you have any other comments to make on the proposed strategy at this stage?" (end of cut and paste)
Our Response:
The Our Irwell Committee will be responding to this invitation, and want to be sure we are representing the views of our members.
Therefore we are holding an online (zoom) meeting focused on what we would like to feedback. This will be on Monday 17th June 6-7.30pm. We hope this will allow as many people as possible to contribute.
Here is a link to the meeting:
Topic: Our Irwell Meeting
Time: Jun 17, 2024 06:00 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://liverpool-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/96897373484?pwd=0pjirbFXOuh1bSIOiB5j5L43eQCUwZ.1
Meeting ID: 968 9737 3484
Passcode: P32U&!e#
If you cant make the meeting please do feel free to email comments to OurIrwell@gmail.com or text/whatsapp 07974929589
We understand their will be a more detailed document, and further consultation later in the summer and want to be as proactive as possible in our contribution – and will of course let you know any developments as soon as we do
Campaign and Event Updates
Pomona News
Pomona has been a bit chewier than anticipated, but expect a call to action within the next couple of weeks. We will be asking you to let us know when you have used Pomona and why access matters to you.
In the meantime one Pomona question: Does anyone know when the road there was built? We’ve got conflicting reports and the Our Irwell hivemind could save us a lot of time!
Other events
We will schedule an in person meeting in early September, unless anything urgent crops up first.
Before that there will be a couple of walks and socials along Our Irwell – if you have a favourite spot you think we should visit please do let us know.
Our Irwell will also be represented at the We Invented the Weekend festival at Salford Quays on the 15th June – it’s a folklore focused wander, see info here: https://www.weinventedtheweekend.com/events/a-magical-exploration-of-greater-manchesters-waterways/
Thanks, as ever, for your support and care for Our Irwell
with love
Morag
Chair of Our Irwell
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Dear friends and members of Our Irwell
I hope you are enjoying the first daffodils and signs of Spring. I’m sorry this email is a bit overdue but we have been very busy behind the scenes making new connections and establishing which areas of Our Irwell to focus on.
Our next meeting will be 7-8.30pm on Wednesday 28th February at the Kings Arms, Bloom Street, Salford. We have a room to ourselves upstairs. Apologies that this may cause some access issues, to mitigate this we will also be online via teams – please email me if you would like the link. We welcome suggestions of venues for future meetings.
We will be discussing the following issues amongst others:
Future Campaigns To Remove Blockages to Access
Several places have been identified as of particular concern. These include Pomona (Waterways Avenue) and adjacent to Blackfriars Bridge. We will update you on the current status of these sites and think about what action we can take.
Ways to Celebrate and Explore Our Irwell
We are planning a series of events including walks, rides and other events – we would love your ideas. We anticipate the first event will be on 23rd March, and we also have the potential to contribute to several local festivals.
Irwell Stories
We also want to collect your Irwell Stories – what are your favourite parts of the river? Do you have any special memories or tales to share?
We hope you can join us in person or online on the 28th, but of course we welcome your comments, questions and ideas at any time. We are also really keen to connect with any other groups, individuals or campaigns who you think we can work with so please do pass this onto anyone you know who may be interested. If you arent a member and want to join the link is here: http://tinyurl.com/OurIrwell
To get in touch please email ourirwell@gmail.com or you can text/whatsapp 07974929589.
Thanks again for your support of Our Irwell
Take care
Morag Rose
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Dear friends and supporters
Building on our success saving the towpath at Ralli Quays Our Irwell are entering a new phase.
Please join us for a public meeting on Thursday 9th November, 6.30-8pm at Sacred Trinity Church, Chapel Street Salford.
We will be launching Our Irwell as a community organisation dedicated to protecting, progressing and promoting access to the River Irwell and surrounding areas.
The meeting will help shape the direction we go in and what our priorities will be. We want to collaborate with as any other groups, campaigns and individuals as possible because together we are stronger. We aim to build relationships, influence policy, organise celebration events and more because we love Our Irwell and we know we are not alone.
Membership of Our Irwell will be free and open to anyone who shares our aims. If you would like to be more actively involved in running the group we will also be recruiting committee members. There will also be plenty of other opportunities to contribute your ideas, skills or time in ways that suit you as we move forward. (This will include help with our web presence).
We hope to enable remote access as well so please get in touch if you would like to join us at a distance.
We were overwhelmed by the widespread concern for the towpath at Ralli Quays and believe our victory can be a significant catalyst for more positive changes. Please, join us to see just what we can do to improve public access.
For more information please don’t hesitate to get in touch, email mlrose@thelrm.org or call/text/whatsapp 07974929589
Please share this invitation with anyone you feel may be interested and help us spread the word about Our Irwell.
Thanks for your support
Very best wishes
Morag Rose
on behalf of our Irwell
PS you can find background information on our work so far here : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/feb/25/plan-to-build-over-salford-riverside-footpath-dropped-after-outcry and https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/11/developer-to-close-300-year-old-footpath-along-river-irwell-in-salford
