Covering a period of up to 2030, the Our Rivers, Our City strategy aims to make Manchester’s three rivers – the Irk in the north of the city, the Medlock in the centre, and the Mersey in the south – a vital part of Manchester’s future, and not just part of its heritage.

The strategy’s five main aims are to improve the quality and functioning of the city’s river valleys and their catchments; to ensure river valleys and sustainable drainage are key components of new developments; improve the accessibility of river valley; promote the wider benefits of river valley and improve flood management and risk mitigation.

Co-ordinated by Manchester City Council, the strategy is a culmination of 18 months of work – which has included seeking the views of the public and other partners. Strikingly, 90% of those surveyed said they want Manchester’s rivers to be a real focus of the city.

Its five main aims are to improve the quality and functioning of the city’s river valleys and their catchments; to ensure river valleys and sustainable drainage are key components of new developments; improve the accessibility of river valley; promote the wider benefits of river valley and improve flood management and risk mitigation.

Councillor Tracey Rawlins, executive member for environment, said: “Manchester’s rivers are a vital asset for the city and we have a clear ambition to restore and revitalise them so that they play a key part in the city’s quality of life.

“There’s considerable evidence that access to biodiversity is important for people’s mental wellbeing and it’s important that our river valleys across the city are inclusive.

“Many people have a role to play in this, from anglers to architects and of course community members, council officers and councillors like me. But having a shared vision of what we want to achieve is critical to realising these ambitions and that’s exactly what this strategy is.”

Partners in the strategy include Manchester City Council, United Utilities, the Environment Agency and Natural England and community and third sector organisations.

The strategy has been funded by the GrowGreen project which is an EU Horizon 2020 programme for Research and Innovation to create climate and water resilient, healthy, and liveable cities by investing in “nature-based solutions”. Alongside partner cities in Valencia, Wroclaw (Poland), Brest, Zadar (Croatia) and Modena; Manchester is working to review and refresh our Green Infrastructure Strategy as part of the ambition of GrowGreen to accelerate and upscale the uptake and understanding of Nature Based Solutions.