Work started this week on a scheme that received overwhelming endorsement at a public consultation this time last year to improve walking and cycling links to RHS Garden Bridgewater in Worsley and to other local facilities.
Funded jointly by the Mayor’s Cycling and Walking Challenge Fund, Growth Deal and Salford City Council, the scheme will connect residents of Boothstown, Walkden and Worsley with RHS Garden Bridgewater. It will provide 6.2km of new or upgraded walking and cycling routes, 4.6km of which will be traffic free with a link along the Bridgewater Canal.
The scheme will consist of a traffic-free route along the north of the Bridgewater Canal linking Worsley and Boothstown to RHS Garden Bridgewater.
An enhanced north-south route from Walkden Station to the garden, also linking to the A580 Guided Busway and new pedestrian and cycle crossing facilities on the East Lancashire Road (A580), Leigh Road (A572), Walkden Road (A575) and Birch Road.
The route will also connect into the existing traffic-free network in Salford, including the Bridgewater Way, the Roe Green loopline and the Tyldesley loopline.
The £3.2 million scheme will become part of the Bee Network, a proposal for the UK’s largest cycling and walking network, connecting communities in all ten Greater Manchester authorities, benefiting 2.7 million people and making cycling and walking a real alternative to the car. This plan for a Greater Manchester Bee Network was launched by Greater Manchester’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Chris Boardman, who said:
“RHS Garden Bridgewater is a new attraction in the North West, particularly for Salford residents who will have this fantastic destination on their doorstep. The new routes we’re creating will make traffic-free journeys possible from Worsley and Boothstown as well as improving crossings and creating quiet routes from Walkden.
“This will enable thousands of people to leave their cars at home for a day out as well as vastly improving local trips on foot and by bike to schools, the shops and public transport. Our Year of Delivery for the Bee Network is now in full swing – well done to Salford Council and all involved for making this exciting project happen.”
Councillor Roger Jones, executive support member for transport, said: “More and more people have come to enjoy walking and cycling for short trips and leisure over the last year and we want to support that. This new route will help local residents connect to jobs, education and health facilities and local shops and the RHS Garden Bridgewater which will be a major visitor attraction providing another boost to Salford’s growth and Greater Manchester’s tourism industry. RHS Garden Bridgewater has already brought new jobs, training educational and volunteering opportunities for local people and when it fully opens will bring enormous economic, social, health, environmental and community benefits to Salford.”
Alongside connecting residents to RHS Garden Bridgewater, the scheme will also link them to local facilities and improve pedestrian and cycle safety. It will also create connections into the region’s wider walking and cycling network, helping to encourage active and healthier lifestyles.
The scheme has been developed in partnership with Salford City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Peel L&P, the Worsley Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club and Asa Homes. It will be delivered by one of Salford City Council’s framework contractors, Landscape Engineering, who start on 25 January and are due to complete by November 2021.
Set to open in May 2021, RHS Garden Bridgewater is made possible by Salford City Council and Peel L&P. Salford City Council invested £19 million into the project which will bring substantial economic and tourism benefits to the city, its communities and the north west region. Peel L&P are custodians of the former Worsley New Hall estate where the garden is being built.
