Looking south-west from the Irwell Bridge on New Quay Street

“pleasure cruiser that ran for a while from here to Salford Quays.”

The top photo was very kindly provided by Steve Welsh and shows the view in 1991 looking south-west from the Irwell Bridge on New Quay Street, on the border between Manchester City Council and Salford City Council (note the pleasure cruiser that ran for a while from here to Salford Quays).

The bottom photo shows some of the major change that has taken place over the last 35 years (the last five in particular!)

On the left is the Manchester Marriott Victoria and Albert Hotel. The Grade II listed building was originally converted to a hotel in 1989.

In the background are the two Union towers in Manchester, designed by Denton Corker Marshall and developed by Vita Group within the St John’s/Enterprise City district. The taller tower stands at 36 storeys, while the second rises to 32 storeys; in total the scheme delivers around 770 apartments and 1,676 beds across a mix of studios and shared apartments.

To the right are two of RENAKER’s Trinity Islands buildings, designed by SimpsonHaugh - delivering 532 apartments across 60 storeys and 483 apartments across 55 storeys.

Also visible is the Ordsall Chord: the strategic railway link which opened in December 2017 and connects the city’s main stations at Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road and Manchester Victoria via a new 300 metre twin-track route.