A thriving mixed use canalside neighbourhood
Client Scarborough Group International
Project Role Masterplanning, Design
Scale 24 acres
Status Ongoing
Middlewood Locks is a 24-acre site in Salford at the western gateway to Manchester City Centre. Formerly brownfield land occupied by mills, warehouses and rail infrastructure around a canal and three turning basins, it remained vacant for many years.
In 2014, we were appointed by Scarborough Group International to lead a consultant team in delivering the vision and design for a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood. Our cross-sector expertise enabled us to guide emerging trends within a cohesive masterplan, creating proposals that respond to current needs while remaining flexible for future growth.
From the outset our team recognised the importance of engagement with the local community, relevant local stakeholders and the Planning Authority. Through this engagement we have built ongoing relationships framed around open, collaborative dialogue to shape this new neighbourhood for Salford and its community.
The start of the journey
Masterplan development
Creating a canalside destination
We shaped the masterplan around the canal – using its existing infrastructure to create a new canalside neighbourhood where people want to live, work and spend time. The waterway becomes both the physical spine and the social heart, organising development plots while anchoring everyday activity.
Community life extends beyond the built form. From yoga sessions to the annual Middlewood Locks festival, curated events and independent brands such as Seven Brothers bring energy and character – creating a destination rooted in the spirit of Salford and Manchester.
The canal at the heart of the neighbourhood
“Whittam Cox Architects have played a key role in the delivery of Middlewood Locks, one of Salford’s most significant regeneration projects in recent years. I’ve found them to be a highly professional, collaborative and responsive practice that understands the importance of place, policy and pragmatic delivery."
Head of Development, Salford City Council
A flexible, market-responsive masterplan
Our ongoing brief has been to develop and maintain a masterplan that would create the sustainable environment required for a successful and diverse community whilst optimising value and flexibility across development plots. This required a masterplan to be developed with enough strength in its approach and principles to give the flexibility for development plots to come forward in various forms and uses to suit market conditions.
Since 2014 we have worked collaboratively with the local authority team to define permissible development quantum for each individual plots. With the most recent update to the Outline Approval to introduce additional bulk and massing whilst demonstrating that the strength in the over arching masterplan vision would allow each plot to bring forward a variety of different use configurations. With all remaining plots having the ability to bring forward residential, commercial office, hotel or MSCP uses.
Masterplan principles plan
2,215
Mixed tenure
Homes
750,000
sq.ft
Commercial office
4.5
acres
Public open space
Masterplan Phasing
Masterplan Phases
Phase 1 & 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Future Phases
A Neighbourhood in Motion
Middlewood Locks has transformed vacant brownfield land into a thriving canalside neighbourhood – reconnecting Salford to Manchester and reactivating its industrial heritage.
The masterplan’s strength lies in its clarity and flexibility. Strong guiding principles allow each plot to evolve with market needs while maintaining a coherent identity anchored by the canal.
As remaining phases come forward, the neighbourhood will continue to grow – introducing new homes, workplaces and destinations. Middlewood Locks is not a finished project, but an unfolding one – shaped for long-term resilience and an exciting future.
An exciting future at Middlewood Locks
