CyanLines returned to Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, this evening to celebrate its first anniversary with two major announcements: a significant charitable grant from the Bupa Foundation to the National Trust towards Phase Two of Castlefield Viaduct, and plans for a new CyanLines route, CL5, which will significantly improve the experience of walking and wheeling to the Etihad Stadium and Co‑op Live Arena from the city centre through a series of practical and nature‑led interventions.
Mayor of Greater Manchester and co‑chair of CyanLines Bev Craig said the mission is to connect green spaces with nature across Greater Manchester. She said the ambition of CyanLines to join up green spaces, rivers and canals is a key part of the vision to create a greener, healthier and better‑connected city region, demonstrating what can be achieved when communities, businesses and the public and voluntary sectors work together with a shared purpose.
Phase Two of Castlefield Viaduct
Phase Two of Castlefield Viaduct is being led by the National Trust, a founding partner of CyanLines, supporting the development of a nature‑rich, accessible and inclusive green and blue network. The transformation of the once‑disused Victorian railway into an urban sky park is creating a new space for people to explore, for communities to gather, and for nature to thrive in the city.
Phase Two is the next step in enabling the full one‑kilometre sky park and active travel route across the city. Most of the funding for this ambitious phase is secured, with the National Trust seeking a final £1.6 million to deliver it.
The Bupa Foundation is supporting Phase Two through its Healthy Cities programme, which helps create greener urban spaces by improving access to nature and encouraging communities to get active.
New CL5 route
Plans have also been developed for the 3.7‑mile (6 km) CL5 circular route over the past twelve months. CyanLines and its partners — Manchester City Football Club, Manchester City Council, Co‑op Live and the Canal & River Trust — have co‑designed the route with community groups, young people and students from the Norman Foster Institute for Sustainable Cities through design workshops and walks.
The plans for CL5 include:
- New play parks for children
- Resting spots for adults
- Extensive tree planting
- Rain gardens
- Wildflower meadows
- Green walls to encourage wildlife and enhance biodiversity
Access to the Etihad Stadium and Co‑op Live Arena from the Ashton Canal will be made significantly easier through the installation of a wheelchair‑friendly alternative. Physical barriers along the route will be removed to improve access for everyone, and lighting, surfacing and wayfinding will be completely overhauled.
The Etihad Stadium recently expanded capacity to just over 60,000 with the opening of its new Pep Guardiola stand. Further expansion is planned with Medlock Square, which will feature a covered fan park for around 6,000 people. Matchdays and tournament fixtures will draw tens of thousands of visitors to the campus in concentrated time windows.
The Co‑op Live Arena is projected to host around seven million visits per year, and Medlock Square’s new venues — including the 600‑capacity Mamma Mia: The Party, a 3,000‑capacity event space, a major new hotel and new food offerings — will further intensify footfall in the area.
The CL5 route
The CL5 route begins at Piccadilly station and follows the Ashton Canal through New Islington and Holt Town to the Etihad Campus, including Co‑op Live Arena. It then loops back towards the city centre, joining the existing CityLink before heading through Medlock Valley to Mayfield and returning to Piccadilly station.
CyanLines
CyanLines is a nature‑powered partnership project aiming to connect blue and green spaces into a high‑quality network of walking, wheeling and cycling routes for residents, visitors and nature. The long‑term vision is to develop a network of hundreds of miles of routes over ten years, starting with the city centres of Manchester and Salford and then stretching across Greater Manchester to deliver a greener, healthier and more climate‑resilient city for the future.
CyanLines has a 100‑mile network target and currently has around 30 miles of routes identified and in development. It launched with four pilot routes:
- CL1 from Victoria Station and NOMA to Queens Park;
- CL2 through Mayfield, New Islington and Ancoats;
- CL3 from St Peter’s Square to Whitworth Park;
- CL4 through the Irwell and Castlefield.
The four routes are available online.
