Buried beneath a concrete culvert for decades, a hidden section of the River Medlock was today finally restored to the open air.
Builders removed the structure in the latest stage of work to complete Mayfield Park - the first in Manchester city centre for 100 years.
The Medlock is one of the three rivers around which the city of Manchester was founded - along with the Irwell and the Irk - and their place in history is said to be recognised in our coat of arms.
Now development at Mayfield is set to restore the Medlock to its former glory.
A 365-metre stretch of the river winds through the site adjacent to Manchester Piccadilly station.
Large sections of concrete culvert have now been removed for the first time in more than 50 years.
The plan is to enrich the river with new wetland planting, generous banks and fast flowing areas as it winds through the 6.5 acre Mayfield Park, creating new habitats for wildlife in the heart of the city centre.
Contractor PP O'Connor has been appointed to deliver the scheme and on Tuesday the final sections of a 60-metre culvert were removed.
Three of the original steel beams have been retained to create the base of a new bridge over the river, forming part of extensive walkways which will allow Mancunians and visitors to meander through the park when it opens in Autumn 2022.
Experts say removing the culvert not only opens the hidden parts of the river to public eyes, but will also dramatically improve the natural processes that can occur along that section, by allowing sunlight to reach vegetation that wouldn’t have been able to establish when river was covered over in the early part of the 20 th Century when the Baring Street Industrial Estate was built.
The work also includes a range of additions along the river and its banks which will create new lush green space and add new points of interest.
Bioengineered Coir pallets filled with established wetland plants will be inserted along the Medlock’s banks to provide instant vegetation and new wildlife habitats.
The plant species, which include Blue Sedge and Yellow Flag Iris, have been pre-grown in a wetland nursery in Norfolk ready to be planted in Manchester.
Gravels will be installed to help to narrow the Medlock at key points, providing protection from erosion and forming faster flowing areas to oxygenate the water and encourage fish to spawn.
Mayfield Park, designed by masterplanner Studio Egret West, is the centrepiece of the £1.4bn Mayfield redevelopment which is transforming a previously derelict 24-acre part of Manchester’s industrial heritage into a balanced, mixed-use urban neighbourhood.
In 2020, the UK Government pledged £23m of investment from its Getting Building Fund – one of the largest investments in any single project – to Mayfield Park as part of its strategy to support ‘shovel ready’ schemes that will help to drive economic recovery following the COVID-19 crisis.
The scheme is being delivered by the Mayfield Partnership, a public-private venture comprising regeneration specialist U+I, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and developer LCR.
Arlene van Bosch, Mayfield Development Director at U+I, said: “The River Medlock played an incredibly important part in Mayfield’s history – it’s why the famous Dye Works were built here during the Industrial Revolution."
"As we regenerate this place, it is critical for us that this incredible but largely hidden natural asset should play a part, and be celebrated in Mayfield’s future.
“Removing the culverts is just the start of wide ranging work to resurrect, replant, and restore the Medlock using sustainable materials and approaches to create a healthy river flowing through the centre of Mayfield Park – a welcoming, tranquil accessible public amenity in the heart of Manchester.”
