Irwell River Park Strategy, Manchester, UK

Irwell River Park is a vision of a river and its corridor, which has been reclaimed by its surrounding communities; of a river transformed from a barrier into a meeting place; of a river moved from the periphery to the very heart of the cities' shared life and identity. The projected scope of change along the Irwell corridor over the next decade is huge and the three partner authorities recognise the vital importance to once again provide the unifying thread that links the multitude of disparate developments already built and anticipated along its banks.

The concept of the new linear park overcomes the effects of previous industrialization by transforming the river corridor from a major polluted severance into a premier public realm with Irwell River at its heart. The concept design provides a coordinated and bold strategy for delivering a quantum leap in the regeneration of England's leading city creating a public asset, integral to the experience and identity of Manchester, Salford and Trafford and of its people.