Mayfield Park the first to open in Manchester for 100 years

Mayfield Park is the first park to open in Manchester in more than 100 years Credit: ITV News

Manchester has opened its first park in more than 100 years - and nature is said to be thriving in the once derelict area already.

Mayfield Park, in the city centre, has been transformed from industrial wasteland into a green, urban "oasis", according to the designers and workers who built it.

The six-and-a-half acre site was once a thriving network of print and dye works, breweries and bathhouses.

It is now home to a diverse range of 120 mature and semi-mature trees, 120,000 plants and shrubs, a vast public lawn and riverside walkway.

The River Medlock runs through Mayfield Park Credit: Rob Smith

Nestled between Mancunian Way, the city’s ring road and Piccadilly Station, the park also boasts the largest children's playground.

At the heart of the park is the River Medlock which, after more than 150 years under a concrete covering, has been restored as a haven for nature.

Developers say it has already attracted wildlife to populate previously derelict industrial land in the city centre.

Martyn Evans, Creative Director at U+I, said: "The minute we uncovered it it was filthy so we cleaned it out and straight away kingfishers, trouts geese, house martins - nature finds away."

Mayfield Park has been created by the public-private Mayfield Partnership involving regeneration specialist U+I, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and LCR, the UK Government’s placemaking expert.

Martyn Evans continued to say: “Mayfield has always been an industrious part of this great city.

"In Victorian times it was a city within a city, powering Manchester’s role in the Industrial Revolution.

"As we look to the future it feels entirely appropriate that Mayfield will set a new blueprint for the creation of beautiful, progressive, sustainable neighbourhoods."

Watch the incredible transformation of the site.

The park has the largest children's play area in Manchester city centre Credit: Rob Smith

Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council said: “To see Mayfield come to life today has been a wonderful experience.

"And to see the park go from visualisation to reality – and surpass our expectations – is a credit to the hard work that has gone into building and sculpting this former brownfield land into a world-class green space that this city, and local people, can be truly proud of. 

“We believe in the power of this sort of space to be the green heart of our communities, which is why quality public areas should be considered a fundamental to development in Manchester.

"We know that access to green spaces have huge health and well-being benefits and I hope Mayfield Park becomes an oasis for our residents."