WaterAid’s Gold medal-winning garden from this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower show will be relocating to Castlefield Viaduct in 2025.
The WaterAid Garden will stand at the entrance of the Victorian-era Grade ll listed steel viaduct in the heart of Manchester, which was opened as a sky park by the National Trust in 2022, providing vital green space and helping preserve part of the city’s industrial heritage.
The charity’s garden, which celebrates water as our most precious resource, was a collaboration between architect Je Ahn and landscape designer Tom Massey, and both the garden and its relocation were made possible thanks to support from the grant-making charity Project Giving Back.
The centrepiece of the thought-provoking design is a planted rainwater harvesting pavilion, which filters and stores rainfall for irrigation, while also slowing the flow of heavy downpours and providing shade.
The structure was inspired by WaterAid’s work alongside communities around the world to develop relevant and sustainable clean water solutions and build resilience to climate change.
Almost one in ten people globally do not have clean water close to home, and climate change is making the situation worse, as a staggering 90% of all natural disasters are water-related.
Tim Wainwright, WaterAid Chief Executive, said:
“We are delighted to partner with the National Trust for the relocation of The WaterAid Garden to the iconic Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester. It’s an exciting move to a great community space, which will enable more people to visit the garden and be inspired to use water sustainably and learn about the crucial role of rainwater.
“The climate crisis is a water crisis, with more frequent and extreme floods polluting water sources and droughts drying up springs. At WaterAid, we are working alongside communities on the frontline of the climate crisis globally to ensure a reliable supply of life-changing clean water. It is this work that has inspired our garden, and its new location will serve as a living example of how innovative water management can create beautiful, functional green spaces here in the UK, as well as sharing the powerful message that clean water changes lives.”
The National Trust envisions Castlefield Viaduct as a permanent, free park
