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£4.4m New Islington (Rochdale) canal works, Manchester.


Josher

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I think they just haven't been fitted yet. From the marina and towpath side I think the bridge will look fine, but foreshortened it is rather a lumpen mass of metal.

Does anyone think this new bridge more stylish than the old footbridge in the background? I realise that the new one is DDA compliant whereas the old one isn't.

It may be of some interest, the mill in the background, Brownsfield Mill was where A.V. Roe started building Avro aeroplanes around 100 years ago. It must have been difficult , working around the internal iron columns at final assembly,even with small wingspan of those early machines.

Bill

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Does anyone think this new bridge more stylish than the old footbridge in the background? I realise that the new one is DDA compliant whereas the old one isn't.

It may be of some interest, the mill in the background, Brownsfield Mill was where A.V. Roe started building Avro aeroplanes around 100 years ago. It must have been difficult , working around the internal iron columns at final assembly,even with small wingspan of those early machines.

Bill

 

I'm going to reserve judgement on the new bridge until it's finished and the towpath works too, but from that angle it looks rather massive and it obscures the attractive bridge further down, which still looks good from the other direction though.

 

P1010058.jpg

 

I didn't know about Brownfield Mill and I will pay a bit more attention to it next time I am along there.

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I didn't know about Brownfield Mill and I will pay a bit more attention to it next time I am along there.

 

You didn't know about Brownsfield Mill? You've not paid enough attention to my virtual tour of the Rochdale Canal! :P

[Linky to page of virtual tour which contains info about Brownsfield Mill.]

 

As far as the new bridge is concerned, it is a stunning double-span design, both crossing the junction and linking the towpath with the road opposite. It probably fits in very well with the whacky and eccentric design styles of the New Islington development but, in my opinion, is very much out of place with the fine old mills on the north side of the canal. The existing bridges across that stretch of canal have a particular style that fits well with the mills and they should have tried to design the new bridge to blend in with the style of the existing bridges, which it certainly does not.

Verdict: Nice bridge but the wrong place for it.

 

This photo shows part of the new bridge and the old bridge a short distance further along:

islingtonbridge01.jpg

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Here is another view of the bridge, that shows a little bit of the mill frontage. It is hard to get a good photo of the bridge at present as the current towpath is closed. (The original towpath was along the road at this point, just like in Canal Street, hence the low wall.)

 

It is not immediately obvious, looking at the photo, but the right hand side of the bridge is a lot closer to the camera than the part on the left.

islingtonbridge02.jpg

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You didn't know about Brownsfield Mill? You've not paid enough attention to my virtual tour of the Rochdale Canal! :P

[Linky to page of virtual tour which contains info about Brownsfield Mill.]

 

 

You are right Martin and I can only think it was because you never take the opportunity to promote your excellent website :). Great photos of the area around Piccadilly Basin.

 

I think the new bridge will look impressive in the context of the new marina. If you are mooring or overnighting there the bridge will be in keeping with your surroundings.

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We are intending to use this as our home marina. The water park itself is pretty nice, although its surrounded by a building site :rolleyes: Still, it's cheap and a very convenient home base for people a fair (probably about 40 bloody years) way from retirement.

 

Also it's about 5 minutes walk from Port Street beer house, which serves the best beer in the city. 6-8 UK real ales, serious Belgian stuff on draught and 8 or so US microbrews. Also 100+ bottles :cheers:

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  • 2 months later...

Hi

you should have given me a knock for a cuppa !

to be fair the houses in the picc are right at the side of the construction site and must suffer some what from the dust etc kicked up from all the work etc , that said i do quite like the look of them as they arnt the normal square box type of houses a little quirky !

its certainly very peacefull here .

regards

Greg jax

I hope you have a wonder life there,I love Manchester myself and I was born in Bolton.The local pub, Port st beer house sounds great.

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  • 6 months later...

I went for a walk around the marina this morning and it is beginning to look really good. I hope the problems with local youths have been overcome because it looks an ideal place to overnight before heading up the Rochdale. The residential part of the marina looks full now. The visitor moorings are two weeks maximum so I hope they don't get too congested. There are toilets (and showers?), water, pump-out and elsan. The elsan is located outside in an enclosure but looks pretty vandal-proof, so no risk of passing out when the door shuts behind you.

 

The bridge is finished and the towpath is open. The original renders showed what looked like a projection or a reflection of Cast No Shadow and I wondered how that would be done and whether it would work:

 

fileproxy.jpg

 

DSCN1084.jpg

 

It does work and looks as though the letters are printed on the bottom of a crystal clear canal - although it is a reflection of the underside of the bridge :).

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I went for a walk around the marina this morning and it is beginning to look really good. I hope the problems with local youths have been overcome because it looks an ideal place to overnight before heading up the Rochdale. The residential part of the marina looks full now. The visitor moorings are two weeks maximum so I hope they don't get too congested. There are toilets (and showers?), water, pump-out and elsan. The elsan is located outside in an enclosure but looks pretty vandal-proof, so no risk of passing out when the door shuts behind you.

 

The bridge is finished and the towpath is open. The original renders showed what looked like a projection or a reflection of Cast No Shadow and I wondered how that would be done and whether it would work:

 

 

 

 

 

It does work and looks as though the letters are printed on the bottom of a crystal clear canal - although it is a reflection of the underside of the bridge :).

 

I moored there for 10 days in October and I can assure you the youths are no problem it is not that type of area. Speaking to the permanent users of the marina (one is a forum member) there have been no problems. The marina is due to be expanded.

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I went for a walk around the marina this morning and it is beginning to look really good. I hope the problems with local youths have been overcome because it looks an ideal place to overnight before heading up the Rochdale. The residential part of the marina looks full now. The visitor moorings are two weeks maximum so I hope they don't get too congested. There are toilets (and showers?), water, pump-out and elsan. The elsan is located outside in an enclosure but looks pretty vandal-proof, so no risk of passing out when the door shuts behind you.

 

The bridge is finished and the towpath is open. The original renders showed what looked like a projection or a reflection of Cast No Shadow and I wondered how that would be done and whether it would work:

 

 

 

 

 

It does work and looks as though the letters are printed on the bottom of a crystal clear canal - although it is a reflection of the underside of the bridge :).

 

I moored there for 10 days in October and I can assure you the youths are no problem it is not that type of area. Speaking to the permanent users of the marina (one is a forum member) there have been no problems. The marina is due to be expanded.

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I moored there for 10 days in October and I can assure you the youths are no problem it is not that type of area. Speaking to the permanent users of the marina (one is a forum member) there have been no problems. The marina is due to be expanded.

 

I'm not fully in agreement with you about the youths, the site is open access all day and at least one part of it is open 24/7, it is in a very depressed area ( at the moment for the benefit of journeyperson ) . However having stayed a night there recently I can fully recommend the facilities and with the added bonus of FREE 14 day moorings for all, the site certainly has things going for it.

 

cheers.gif

A

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I'm not fully in agreement with you about the youths, the site is open access all day and at least one part of it is open 24/7, it is in a very depressed area

A

 

I can only tell you how I found it for 10 days but then in 6 years I have had no problems with youth and that includes mooring in most towns on the system.

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A new primary school for ages 5-8 is going live besides the marina next year. They are taking bookings now, however the school is just a mountain of rubble at the moment. They better build quick....and they better make sure the marina pump out station works, else there'll be a bit of a Health and Safety stink :) The marina is full, and life is good as we all settle in for the ice, which began 2 days ago.

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I'm not fully in agreement with you about the youths, the site is open access all day and at least one part of it is open 24/7, it is in a very depressed area ( at the moment for the benefit of journeyperson ) . However having stayed a night there recently I can fully recommend the facilities and with the added bonus of FREE 14 day moorings for all, the site certainly has things going for it.

 

cheers.gif

A

 

With there being ungated access to both sides of the marina from the towpath I can see it being very popular with locals on a hot sunny day, particularly on the south-western side where it has been landscaped already.

 

NI.jpg

 

NI1.jpg

 

Now Ark Right, it is on the edge of a very depressed area but on three sides the developers are winning. Have you had a walk around the area bounded by Ancoats, Oldham Road and the canal?

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With there being ungated access to both sides of the marina from the towpath I can see it being very popular with locals on a hot sunny day, particularly on the south-western side where it has been landscaped already.

 

NI.jpg

 

NI1.jpg

 

Now Ark Right, it is on the edge of a very depressed area but on three sides the developers are winning. Have you had a walk around the area bounded by Ancoats, Oldham Road and the canal?

 

 

Nice pics....thats our boat ;-)

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I'm not fully in agreement with you about the youths, the site is open access all day and at least one part of it is open 24/7, it is in a very depressed area ( at the moment for the benefit of journeyperson ) . However having stayed a night there recently I can fully recommend the facilities and with the added bonus of FREE 14 day moorings for all, the site certainly has things going for it.

 

I would disagree with you about it being in a very depressed area - have you seen the price of those flats apartments?

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Now Ark Right, it is on the edge of a very depressed area but on three sides the developers are winning. Have you had a walk around the area bounded by Ancoats, Oldham Road and the canal?

 

Yes indeed I have been all round the marina and its boundaries, and it is what it is, as you agree on the edge of a very depressed area. I'm sure the developers will "win " as you put it, on all sides of the development eventually, if sufficient funding can be found. It may go the way of other Urban Splash developments which start with a flourish but remain unfinished as the funding dries up.

 

cheers.gif

A

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When I was there Dean,I thought was very good and I feel it can only get better.

 

 

Yep. The one aspect missing from this thread is that now, after a year, there is actually quite a tight knit boating community at New Islington...so it's no longer a "development" but a "community". Visiting boats are welcomed. Many stay as long as they can:)

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Just to add to the above comment on the community, I had a walk round there today, and yes took a couple of pics, and it did have quite a nice vibe. And that included the people just about their business around the marina. Seemed relaxed and friendlier than you might expect.... Considering it as a possibility for a long term even tho I hadn't been thinking of city moorings at all really... There you go.

 

The bridge. No. Just no.

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