FOMV

It’s taken us quite a while to get to the point of launching a website. When we formed in 2021, the Medlock Valley was a largely abandoned area attracting industrial-scale fly tipping and a broad spectrum of social problems that tend to come with such forgotten spaces in our inner cities.

It was also (and still is) a place where you could spot kingfishers, badgers, owls, egrets and herons, the latter often perched atop microwaves or shopping trollies left stranded in the riverbed. In the spring, wild garlic, bluebells and orchids bloom in the woodlands and meadows, some falling casualty to off-road bikes or smothered by discarded tents and sleeping bags. It is a place of jarring contradictions, almost as large as the nearby Northern Quarter in size, and yet somehow has escaped the forces of modern urban development. It remains under the ownership of a patchwork of different Council departments reflecting the original land use (schools, housing, highways, etc. – see map below). As such, one of the city’s largest right-to-roam spaces is a historical coincidence and not the acknowledged asset to the city that it could be.

Beginning with a group of nearby residents who were both enchanted by the valley and outraged by its neglect, FOMV has since worked to promote the area with improved pathways, artistic installations, a network of ponds, a community allotment and regular workshops. We are now partnering with the University of Manchester to transform the area with extensive signage, better access routes, ecological surveys, more microgardening, and a range of public events with academics. This is a major step in our goal to see the area become a place of leisure, research, biodiversity and sustainability, as well as a community hub for Ancoats and Beswick.

This blog will reflect regularly on the upcoming project with UoM, “Rewilding Our Industrial Past: The Lower Medlock Valley”. You can also follow our social media pages for updates and a full schedule of events.