Ferry Drivers have expressed their concerns over the potential privatisation of a public walkway along the River Irwell.
The privatisation comes after Salford City Council granted permission for plans for the demolition of Ralli Quays and replacing it with a 12-storey office block and 16-storey hotel building.
The plans come despite numerous letters of objection from the public and ferry masters, complaining about the lack of space the privatisation poses.
Peter Jewitt is a Freelance Boat Master and Inland Marine Consultant who works for Manchester River Cruises and frequently uses the public footpath to pick up and drop off passengers from the company’s boat tours.
Mr Jewitt said: “It’s expensive. There’s certainly a direct cost…there might be all sorts of indirect costs assuming that we don’t lose business by not being able to pick people up in a convenient spot.”
When asked how often he used this public space, Mr Jewitt replied: “When we’re operating the public trips, we come in like four times a day.”
As the plans would privatise the public footpath along the River Irwell, the backlash has resulted in a change to the plans to keep the footpath public. The Deputy Major of Salford, Paul Dennett, was amongst those calling for a change to the plans.
Mr Jewitt continued talking about the company’s measures to combat the problem. He followed: “We’ve got planning applications to put pontoons in it because there aren’t that many conveniently accessible places”.
There will be a meeting on Friday 7th October to decide whether the developers will approve the plans to keep the path public.
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