Exploring Greater Manchester on a SuDS Safari!
Taking Local Authority officers from across Greater Manchester on a safari tour of some retrofit SuDS projects in the wild.
As part of our ongoing support to Transport for Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester Combined Authority in the development and application of the Greater Manchester SuDS Design Guidance, last week we had the pleasure of leading the first of a series of SuDS Safaris.
We guided Local Authority officers from across Greater Manchester to show them these retrofit SuDS projects in the wild:
💧 Altrincham Public Realm
This is one of the longest standing Civic Engineers projects to date. We were initially appointed in 2013 to deliver significant public realm improvements to streets and squares across a large area of Altrincham town centre. A key part of this was to create raingardens that prevent surface water flooding and promote biodiversity.
As part of the Safari, we were joined by Planit and Conor Leyden, and visited the raingardens on Regent Road, and the raingarden under construction by Daniel Lyle at Groby Road, which has been designed to future-proof the town centre, making a meaningful impact and managing flood risk.
🌺 Stretford Kingsway
Another one of our award-winning projects where we have reclaimed half of the pre-existing dual carriageway to provide active travel infrastructure, nature based SuDS, play and public realm. The SuDS here significantly reduce the rate of rainwater entering the sewer by acting as a sponge-like filter, whilst creating an attractive and biodiverse street.
🐝 Deansgate, Whitworth St
It’s great to see nature being incorporated into the new active travel infrastructure around Manchester city centre, bringing a whole new meaning to the Bee Network. A few teething issues are currently being resolved, but a great big step in the right direction.
🚴♂️ Liverpool Street, Salford
Almost 1km of raingardens have been installed alongside this new cycling infrastructure making best use of space and spend. Salford has been an advocate of SuDS for many years and this is a great example of what can be achieved through joined up infrastructure thinking. Great job Matthew Ryan, James Lankford and team.
We’re looking forward to running more SuDS Safaris soon- getting out on site is one of the best ways to see how these systems not only manage water but also bring streets to life.
A big thanks to everyone who joined us, and to our partners helping deliver better, greener, climate-resilient places across Greater Manchester.
Keep an eye out for updates from our next SuDS Safari!
