Salford’s ambitious 2042 local plan includes creating homes, jobs, and green spaces

Plans for the future of Salford are moving forward.

A vision for how the city will look and feel by 2042 is being drawn up in the second part of Salford council’s local plan, a document known as the borough’s ‘core strategy and allocations.’

It includes plans for housing and jobs, as well as changes to how people get around.

The future of Salford

On housing, there are plans in the pipeline to build at least 33,000 homes by 2042. But the number is more likely to be much higher at around 40,000, as Salford has also adopted the Greater Manchester Places for Everyone scheme.

Salford’s plan for the future also includes creating more than 250,000 sqm of new office floorspace and 550,000 sqm of industrial and warehousing facilities – delivering a massive boost to the local economy and creating new jobs.

New housing and offices

The plan states that a ‘large proportion of new housing and office development’ will be focused in the city centre and Salford Quays – called key growth areas – with industry and warehousing focused around Port Salford in the south-west part of the city.

Around 85 percent of new development is set to be built on previously developed land and existing buildings which are currently empty, the plan states.

Apartments and duplexes

In the city centre and Salford Quays areas, new housing is set to focus on apartments and duplexes, with more houses within the inner-city areas such as Eccles and Ordsall, and further out towards the edges of the borough.

There are also big plans around Salford Community Stadium, which the council recently bought, developing with a focus on tourism, business, as well as industry and warehousing.

What about transport?

On transport, the council is planning to ‘minimise the need to travel’ and encourage more sustainable methods of transport, reducing the number of car journeys being made in the city by increasing the scale and density of development work.

These plans also fit into upgrades to walking and cycling facilities set to take place across the city, such as along Chapel Street.

The vision for the city’s future includes allocating more land at Duchy Road for new accommodation for gypsies and travellers. This is to meet the ‘significant need’ for new plots for travelling showpeople, and will be located directly to the north of the existing gypsy and traveller site in the area.

Neighbourhoods around Salford will get their own specific plans, outlining how the areas will develop in future.

Salford council’s local plan is set to be adopted by autumn 2026, and recently went through a ten-week public consultation from December until February 2025.

Coun Mike McCusker, Salford council’s lead member for planning, transport and Sustainable development, said: “Core strategy and allocations is an important final element for Salford’s local plan.

Places for Everyone

“It builds on Places for Everyone and the Salford local plan: development management policies and designations, to support the continuing sustainable growth of a fairer Salford, fostering neighbourhoods where all communities can thrive.

“This part of the local plan sets out how and where Salford’s growth will happen, and how we’ll ensure that this growth happens alongside a high-quality and resilient natural and built environment.

“There’s still a lot of work to do on the local plan as we progress, and we hope that the local community engages with this process as much as possible.”

You can find out more about the Places for Everyone masterplan by clicking here