Lots more green, lots more offices.

Salford City Council has taken the wraps off the latest development plans and promises more and better parks alongside another 4.3M SF of new office space.

The Salford Local Plan, which is open for consultation until 22 March, allocates 2.7M SF of new office space to Peel’s MediaCity development at Salford Quays, with significant growth in the city centre over the period to 2037.

City neighbourhoods are expected to retain different identities as office development proceeds, the document insists.

Greengate will see a new park and a new Greengate Boulevard linking the historic Market Cross and the Grade II* listed Collier Street Baths.

Chapel Wharfs will be mixed use, New Bailey will supplement the Spinningfield office district, Chapel Street will be mixed-use and Adelphi and Middlewood dominated by residential. The Crescent will be reserved for knowledge industries.

“The scale of development and densities envisaged make the provision of green infrastructure within the city centre particularly important, contributing to a high-quality urban environment and helping to address issues such as the urban heat island, biodiversity and flood risk," the document said. "The high density urban environment can present particular challenges in this regard and all potential options to ‘green’ developments will need to be explored.”

The plan also envisages up to 6.1M SF of new industrial floorspace with the emphasis on Port Salford and its infrastructure.

If adopted the plan will come into effect in July 2021.

The council has also published its new Greenspace Strategy, which updates the previous planning guidance for developers which has been in place since 2006.

It details Salford’s ambitions to provide three new nature reserves, new parks, play spaces and allotments and invest more than £10M in bringing existing parks, play spaces nature reserves and other green spaces up to new standards. Development is expected to take decades rather than years.