Urban ‘sky park’ unveiled in Manchester greens up historic landmark

A new urban ‘sky park’ on a disused railway viaduct in Manchester is opening this week, with visitors able to access the park from this Saturday 30 July.

The National Trust project has seen trees, plants and flowers installed along the Castlefield Viaduct, a 330 metres long steel structure, over the past five months.

Working in partnership with Salford-based MC Construction, the organisation planted over 3,000 plants which reflect Manchester’s heritage, such as the county flower, cotton grass and fern species once collected by Manchester suffragist and botanist Lydia Becker.

The park will be open for a year and is aimed at encouraging visitors to explore the viaduct’s heritage and the city’s relationship with plants.

It’s hoped the project will help to shape the longer-term future of the grade-II listed site by inspiring community innovation and by teaching local people gardening tips.

Hilary McGrady, Director-General of the National Trust, said: ‘What I love about this space is that it encapsulates so much of what the Trust’s work is about: opening up our shared heritage for everyone to enjoy, creating beautiful spaces and bringing people close to nature. It’s about creating something new for the community, while also protecting an iconic piece of industrial history.

‘We hope hundreds of people will visit and enjoy spending time in nature among the trees, shrubs and wildlife that is already starting to make this space its home. We’ll also be able to learn from this project and really start to understand more about what and how we can bring more green spaces and wildlife to thousands more people across the country in urban spaces.’

Work at Castlefield Viaduct is part of the National Trust’s Urban Places scheme which focuses on increasing access to natural and historical spaces in urban areas.

The £1.8m project was funded by the Postcode Earth Trust, supported by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, as well as public donations which covered two-thirds of the costs.

Russ Forshaw, Group Operations Director at MC Construction, said: ‘It has been a great pleasure partnering with National Trust and the key stakeholders involved in the project.

‘Regenerating the disused Grade II listed Viaduct that has stood above the historic area of Castlefield for over 125 years has been no easy task. I am thrilled with the end result and I am incredibly proud of the team who have worked tirelessly over the past couple of months to bring National Trust’s vision to life.’

Photo by Tak-Kei Wong