All signs point to a rebirth for chapel Street
A DECADE AGO IT WAS BADLY IN NEED OF REGENERATION... NOW IT’S AN AREA THAT COULD BE ‘NEW NORTHERN QUARTER’
LESS than a decade ago, Salford’s Chapel Street needed some serious TLC, to put it mildly.
Reporting on embryonic plans to regenerate the area – and ultimately hopes of blurring the border with Manchester city centre – an M.E.N. report in 2010 detailed the ‘burnt-out shell’ of the Old Nelson pub, empty vandalised shops, the boarded-up police station and the fire-damaged former auctioneers.
It was easy to be dubious about suggestions it could be rejuvenated into somewhere people would want to spend time, rather than just drive through, especially in the wake of the economic crash.
Plans to make Chapel Street the heart of a new community – ideally one with lots of character and creative bustle – were a ‘leap of faith,’ admits one regeneration figure involved.
But Central Salford Urban Development Corporation, the body tasked with finding the cash and bringing together pockets of land, ploughed ahead.
Then, the following year, came the rows about the roadworks.
As the council widened the pavements down the A6 to make the area more pedestrian-friendly – lowering the speed limit to 20mph – headlines about traffic snaking back through the centre of Salford during rush hour abounded as motorists vented their anger. That was then.
Now, with skyscrapers starting to soar just a few hundred yards away, younger generations find themselves priced out of the city centre.
Chapel Street, with its low-rise, creative, slightly shabby charm, is gently starting to making its presence felt. Its story is still only beginning. The council admits it still needs knitting together with more of the colour that brings a place to life – and the gaps filling in – but all the signs are there.
Clusters of new homes have gradually appeared over time, from Vimto Gardens near Islington Mill to the elegant grey-stone townhouses on Timekeepers Square, next to St Philip’s Church.
Canny independent business owners have started to spot an opportunity – not only to get in at the start of something, but to seek respite themselves from the hustle of the Northern Quarter.
Giuseppe Piccoli, who opened up his Italian restaurant Vero Moderno in Vimto Gardens 12 months ago, is one of them. A few years back he started to notice tatty buildings around Chapel Street were being cleared and new investment trickling in – and spied his chance.
“I waited for a couple of years and when I started seeing things becoming real, I decided a nice Italian restaurant could be good around here, because Manchester city centre is saturated with Italian restaurants already.”
Peppe, who also lives on Chapel Street, believes more and more like-minded people have recognised the area’s charm, fuelled by the student population at the nearby university and established artistic communities such as at Islington Mill.
Once enough people, restaurants, galleries and shops have moved in, Peppe hopes the area will become a neighbourhood in its own right, like the Northern Quarter.
Peel Park - just a little further up the road - is now seeing massive investment, at the same time as independent businesses tentatively move in.
Much of the heritage that makes Salford what it is still remains, despite the contentious loss of landmarks such as the Black Horse pub, now being redeveloped by billionaire bookie Fred Done.
The stunning old hospital building, itself an early flat conversion back in the 1990s, the cathedral, St Philip’s Church, the former magistrates’ court and even the rundown old cinema on the corner of Chapel Street and Trinity Way all remain – part of the fabric of an area that has its own character, distinct from Manchester.
The council and University of Salford are far from done with the area, however.
It’s early days, but the town hall is looking at the Regents trading estate, behind Islington Mill, as a possible location for cheap creative space at permanently low rents, akin to Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle.
That would attempt to circumvent the problems seen in so many cities - including of late, Manchester – in which young people and culture can no longer afford to set up and give an area the spirit and creativity that so often makes it attractive in the first place.
Islington Mill is an institution in its own right – a thriving community of artists who first began living, working and partying there in the 1990s.
Coun John Merry, who was leader of the council when the regeneration of Chapel Street was first dreamt up, admits he feels ‘vindicated’ by the area’s growing appeal.
“It proves that the long term vision was absolutely justified,” he says.
“We are seeing small restaurants starting to open, communities starting to develop, you see it developing as an attractive part of the city where people want to come and work and play.”
His successor, Salford’s mayor Paul Dennett, agrees that ‘calculated’ risk-taking can pay off – adding that relying on the market alone to create a community isn’t always enough: “As we grow, we need to understand what is special about Chapel Street, and how to preserve it.”
Its next steps will be to work in areas such as the trading estate to ensure the affordable rents, ‘minimal red tape’ and accessible arts space that have made it attractive persist.
“That’s why the council’s activities around Chapel Street have only just begun.”