The Quays is Greater Manchester's unique waterfront.
Salford Quays is one of Europe’s most successful water regeneration projects, the birth place of MediaCityUK and home to thousands of residents. After decades of historic regeneration, Salford Quays is currently embarking on its next stage of development with MediaCityUK set to double in size over the next decade and plans afoot for thousands more homes.
MediaCity, opened in 2011, has continued to develop a sustainable, digital tech and innovation hub where the BBC has its home alongside ITV, Kellog’s, Ericsson and over 250 creative and tech businesses, from startups to established maturing businesses.
Three education establishments are based here, including The University of Salford’s dedicated MediaCity campus, while at its heart is HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology, which supports innovators in data, analytics, cybersecurity, AI, gaming and immersive technologies.
The Quays has matured into a town centre, its own electoral ward, and will continue to grow; within the GM Plan Places for Everyone, it is recognised as an economic location of national significance, characterised by a wide mix of uses. The regional plan describes how new growth will continue to support and protect the high quality public realm and distinguishing features whilst also reinforcing the area’s interest, vibrancy and unique identity.
Further information on the area, including development plans can be found here:
Early progress
Key milestones have included the opening of The Lowry in 2000, with its theatres, galleries, shops, bars, restaurant and conference facilities, along with the Digital World Centre and the Quayside shopping mall and leisure development.
The Quays has established itself as a tourist destination of choice with a wealth of world-class entertainment, sporting, leisure and cultural facilities.
The early story of Salford Quays is captured excellently in the downloadable documents below.
Downloadable documents
- Salford Quays regeneration milestones, the story of the regeneration project (Adobe PDF format, 3.3mb)
- The Development Plan for Salford Quays, 1985, a scanned copy of the original masterplanning document (Adobe PDF format, 9.5mb)
If you are unable to view documents of these types, our downloads page provides links to viewing software.