Central Salford

Upon the formation of the government in May 2010, a decision was taken to wind down the nine UK Regional Development Agencies. Following withdrawal of funding from the North West Regional Development Agency and the Homes and Communities Agency, it was decided in November 2010 to close the Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company (URC). The URC formally ceased operation on 31 March 2011.

Salford City Council however wished to maintain momentum on projects, and agreed to the formation of a new development team, lead by Development Director Karen Hirst. This new team sits within the Office of the Chief Executive and will take forward priority projects within Central Salford.

During its years of operation from 2005 to 2011, the Central Salford URC helped to secure more than £1 billion of private sector investment. Considered one of the UK's most successful URCs, Central Salford secured £10 private investment for every pound of public money.

The URC worked in partnership with the public and private sector to lever in millions of pounds of funding to catalyse and begin to deliver a number of projects, such as Chapel Street, Greengate and Irwell River Park. Funding for these projects has been safeguarded meaning that the projects can continue without the URC with no loss of momentum.

Vision

Upon the creation of the Central Salford URC, an international team of planners and architects was gathered to shape an inspirational vision for the Central Salford area. The city council remains dedicated to the realisation of the vision's core objectives to, reveal and exploit natural and neglected assets, in particular the 'blue' and 'green' of the city's waterways and green spaces:

re-connect communities and fragmented parts of the city
significantly improve the quality of life for existing communities as well as potential new residents
inspire the confidence of 'quality' investors in specifically targeted transformation areas
and create an environment attractive to knowledge and innovation-based enterprises

The core aspirations of the vision will continue to inform and shape the development team's efforts to transform the Central Salford area of the city.