The Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal Society (MBBCS) welcomes Salford Council’s decision to require a developer to properly acknowledge Salford’s industrial heritage. A company called Zerum acting on behalf of a developer currently building 296 apartments on Oldfield Road has been told to go back to the drawing board after their proposal to commemorate the heritage of the site solely through naming and branding was rejected. It was a condition attached to their planning approval that ”prior to the first occupation of the development hereby approved, a scheme to commemorate the heritage of the site and adjacent area within the new public realm shall be submitted to, and approved in writing by, the Local Planning Authority. "The approved scheme shall be implemented prior to the first occupation of the development and retained thereafter.” The council decision states that: “it agrees that the approach of naming and branding the development, whilst welcomed, does not go far enough in commemorating the site’s heritage. Despite the requirement of the condition (“and retained thereafter”) "It cannot be guaranteed that this branding and signage will remain part of the development in perpetuity. "The LPA agree with the recommendations set out in point 4(a) of the response from MBBCS as being a more appropriate manner to commemorate the site’s heritage. "Other approaches will also be considered.” Al Franco, a Trustee of the MBBCS, said that: “We thank Salford council for inviting us to give our observations on the developer’s proposal and welcome the robust response of their planning department”. Local MP Rebecca Long-Bailey, said: “It’s important that this significant location, the first canal linked coal wharves in Salford, next to the railway company dwellings that were immortalised by LS Lowry, are properly commemorated”.
