Muse, the nationwide placemaker, has joined the CyanLines partnership, supporting a growing network connecting Greater Manchester’s parks, waterways, streets and public spaces through walking, cycling and everyday journeys.
CyanLines is a 100-mile-plus network linking rivers, canals, viaducts and neighbourhoods across the city region. The initiative is helping people rediscover familiar places while making it easier to move between them, improving access to green and blue spaces and supporting healthier, more connected communities.
Since launching in September, CyanLines has brought together public, private and third-sector partners with a shared ambition to improve everyday routes and connections. Muse joins a partnership that includes local authorities, developers, landowners, designers and community organisations, all working together to shape routes that reflect how people already use the city, while opening up new connections over time.
As part of CyanLines, routes such as the Irwell and Castlefield Loop connect Greater Manchester through historic waterways, riverside paths and re-imagined spaces including Castlefield Viaduct’s sky garden. This route runs through Salford, where Muse has been working for more than two decades to create new homes, workplaces and public spaces designed around walking, cycling and access to nature.
This partnership builds on Muse’s long-term work in the area through both Muse and ECF – the placemaking partnership between Muse, L&G and Homes England. In Salford, this has included the transformative New Bailey neighbourhood as well as the emerging £2.5bn Crescent city neighbourhood district being delivered in partnership with ECF, Salford Council and the University of Salford.
Across these places, walking routes, cycling connections and access to green space have been designed in from the outset to support everyday life. Salford Rise, for example, will connect Crescent Innovation and the University of Salford with surrounding communities. The elevated five-acre green walkway will improve accessibility and will help both new and established communities to reach new employment and education opportunities.
Through CyanLines, Muse will support the partnership’s wider ambition to connect neighbourhoods, improve everyday routes and help people experience the city in new ways – whether commuting, exercising or simply spending time outdoors.
Phil Marsden, Managing Director at Muse, said:
“CyanLines is about making it easier for people to move through the city in ways that feel natural and part of everyday life. In Salford, we’ve seen how well-designed routes, green spaces and connections can change how places are used and valued. Joining CyanLines is an opportunity to support that thinking at a city-region scale, working alongside partners to help people reconnect with the places around them.”
Steve Connor, Interim Programme Director, CyanLines said: “It is great to welcome Muse on board, an organisation doing so much to transform large parts of Manchester, Salford and Greater Manchester. They have an amazing track record of integrating nature into their developments – like the outstanding Eden at New Bailey. We couldn’t ask for better champions for our CyanlLines vision and we are really looking forward to working with them on new routes and projects that bring people and nature together.”
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