Manchester City Council has revealed the first phase of a city-wide regeneration programme aiming to create more than 100 miles of interconnected ‘green and blue’ corridors across Manchester and Salford.
Called CyanLines, it’s said that the the walkways and cycle paths will ‘transform’ the city once work starts on them later this year.
The routes combine well-known landmarks such as the Castlefield Viaduct, Canal Basin, Symphony Park, Kampus, and Ancoats Green with lesser-known pocket parks, towpaths, and pedestrian routes, weaving through areas including the Science Museum courtyard, the former Central Retail Park, Victoria North, Holt Town, and the Medieval Quarter.
Councillor Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester is on a mission to make our city greener, investing in new parks and green spaces including the likes of Mayfield, Ancoats Green and the Castlefield Viaduct, in addition to our work to celebrate and open up our rivers and canals. We are a city with exciting, and transformational plans for the future.
“But there’s more that we can do together. CyanLines is a bold new initiative over the next decade to imagine and create over 100 miles of connected parks, green spaces and waterfronts. This is just the start of CyanLines and I urge residents, business owners, community groups and leaders to join us on this very exciting journey to truly transform our city.”
The CL1 route will link Victoria Station and NOMA to Queens Park in the project’s Irk Valley Explorer. It will guide walkers and cyclists along the Irk Valley, connecting a part of Manchester rich in industrial history but often overlooked. By joining central transport hubs with green pockets to the north, it will highlight the hidden potential of the Irk’s riverside landscapes.
The CL2 route will take in Mayfield, New Islington and Ancoats in a loop, connecting the marina to Manchester’s new city park. This stretch will showcase some of the city’s most ambitious recent regeneration projects, including Mayfield Park, while weaving past the canals, marina and green developments of Ancoats. It promises to be one of the most visible demonstrations of how industrial land has been reimagined for public leisure and access to nature.
The CL3 route will run from St Peter’s Square to Whitworth Park, known as the Knowledge Corridor. Linking the civic centre of Manchester to the university district and its green spaces, it will highlight both cultural and educational landmarks. The route will connect Symphony Park and the Oxford Road Corridor with the Whitworth, blending learning, arts and public green space in a single walkable line.
The CL4 route, called the Irwell and Castlefield Loop, will connect Romans, rivers and what has been dubbed a ‘park in the sky’. Taking in the River Irwell and the Castlefield Viaduct, it will tie together Manchester’s Roman origins with its waterways and one of the most striking new public spaces in the city. Visitors will be able to experience elevated gardens on the viaduct alongside riverside paths, creating a varied and historic trail.
Tom Bloxham MBE CBE, CyanLines project co-founder and Chair of Urban Splash and Factory International, reinforced the project’s ambition by reflecting on the Manchester International Festival’s origins: “With a big vision and with the whole city behind us we were able to grow and build the Manchester International Festival into this building, an asset for all of Manchester… Now we have the same ambition with CyanLines – we want to bring the whole city along with us, to help us plan, fund and deliver CyanLines.”
Pete Swift, co-founder of CyanLines and CEO of Planit, emphasised that the routes offer much more than active travel. He described them as a springboard for a broad spectrum of projects to support nature’s resurgence and access: “The first four CyanLines provide so much more than walkable and wheelable connections … to bring us all closer to nature and nature closer to us.” Swift also outlined the greater ambition: a network eventually linking all Greater Manchester boroughs, from Dunham Massey in the south, through Northern Roots in Oldham, to Leigh and RHS Bridgewater and MediaCity, towards the Pennines.
To make the routes accessible to a broad audience, the team has partnered with outdoor app komoot, adding the initial CyanLines to the Manchester Collection on the platform to encourage public exploration and engagement.
Other founding partners for the project include Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the National Trust, Factory International, and private-sector developers Landsec, Bruntwood, Renaker, Urban Splash, FEC, Property Alliance Group (PAG), and Allied London, with more partners to follow.
Supported by National Trust, Natural England, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Nature Towns and Cities programme, Manchester and Salford City Councils have secured funding and capacity to advance CyanLines.
Further announcements on the project are expected in the coming months.
The CyanLines name itself – coined by Tom Bloxham and Pete Swift – is a nod to the mixing of blue and green, reflecting the project’s fusion of waterways and greenery.
The CyanLines team has also opened a public call for involvement. Residents, businesses, charities and community groups are being asked to contribute by suggesting projects, volunteering alongside partners such as the National Trust, supporting through funding or expertise, or collaborating as developers and philanthropists. A submission form for those interested will be available when the CyanLines website launches fully on 10 September 2025.
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