15 years of Cotton Fields Park: landscape at the heart of regeneration
Fifteen years on from the opening of Cotton Fields Park in 2011, New Islington stands as one of the clearest success stories of Manchester’s urban renaissance. What was once the Cardroom Estate is now recognised as one of the city’s most desirable places to live.
Delivered as part of the Millennium Communities programme, New Islington was shaped through an ambitious partnership between Urban Splash, English Partnerships and Manchester City Council.
Grant Associates led the landscape design response to this challenge. From the outset, the ambition was clear: use landscape as the primary driver of change.
From isolation to inclusion
The starting point was complex — historic under-density, depopulation and social isolation. The landscape strategy addressed this directly, creating a connected framework of water, gardens and public spaces that could support a vibrant mixed community and long-term resilience.
Balancing old and new was critical. The design stitched the existing community into a renewed urban fabric, ensuring that regeneration felt inclusive, not imposed.
Water as catalyst
Water became both identity and organising structure. Grant Associates conceived the new urban water park to connect two historic canals, shaping the physical form of the neighbourhood and its emotional character.
Sweeping arcs of open water sit alongside intimate canal fingers, canalside homes, gardens and carefully curated planting, stonework and cast-iron detailing. Design excellence was applied at every scale.
A blueprint that still resonates
Long before “placemaking” became industry shorthand, this was landscape-led regeneration in action. Public realm and urban nature were treated as essential infrastructure.
Fifteen years on, New Islington remains a defining part of New East Manchester — recognised for its distinctive character and high-quality landscape.
It stands as proof that when landscape leads, regeneration can deliver lasting social, economic and environmental value.
