Salford Quays, looking north towards Pier 9
“…Heron House will become the interim No 10 North for new Prime Minister Andy Burnham”
Well….this is a corker!
Once again, another piece of magic from Steve Welsh. The top photo is from 1983 at Salford Quays, looking north towards Pier 9. The working docks had closed the year before leaving a huge area of redundant dockland, contaminated land, and obsolete infrastructure. Two years later the Salford Quays Development Plan, prepared by Salford City Council, went on to establish the comprehensive regeneration strategy which has played a role in what is in place today.
The bottom photo was taken September 2026 and shows the incredible change over the past 40 years or so (note the mooring ballast in the bottom right hand corner as a marker). The photo was taken next to the Imperial War Museums, which opened in 2002, and looks toward MediaCityUK. A huge part of the regeneration of the area, and MediaCityUK, was the decision by the BBC in June 2006 to take space at the Quays. MediaCity officially opened in 2012 and is today a joint venture between Peel Media and Landsec.
In terms of the buildings in the photo (from left to right):
Green Rooms (19 storeys) – Designed by AHR, completed in 2019; 238 apartments.
Lightbox (19 storeys) – Designed by AHR and completed in 2020; 238 apartments.
The Heart (22 storeys) - Designed by Chapman Taylor and completed in 2011; 378 apartments.
BBC Quay House - Designed by WilkinsonEyre (approximately 135,00 sqft) and completed in 2011 coinciding with the BBC’s relocation to Salford.
Blue Tower (19 storeys) – Designed by Fairhurst Design Group and completed in 2010.
The Holiday Inn (16 storeys) - Designed by Chapman Taylor; 218 rooms. Completed in 2011.
High Definition: two buildings - Aria (17 storeys) and Alto (14 storeys) - designed by Chapman Taylor for Glenbrook, and completed in 2023; 280 apartments in total.
BBC Dock House - Designed by WilkinsonEyre and completed in 2011.
Number One (22 storeys) - designed by Chapman Taylor and completed in 2010; 198 apartments,
The Orange Tower (11 storeys) - designed by Chapman Taylor and occupied by ITV, Kellogg Company, Intelligent Lending; The University of Salford; and, Red Bee Media. Completed in 2011.