As a lifelong fisher, Mike has always been passionate about the waterways of Salford, and his years of campaigning have helped attract an array of new wildlife into the city’s green spaces.
He has been fishing for as long as he can remember, first introduced to the pastime by his Dad and Grandfather as a child, before joining Salford Friendly Anglers Society in 2004. Now, as the current chairman, Mike is continuing the fight for cleaner waters and reduced pollution to further increase biodiversity in the city.
The Salford Friendly Anglers Society is the oldest fishing club in England, having existed since 1817, as well as acting as an environmentalist group. Assisted by citizen scientists, they perform regular water quality inspections of the waterways in Salford, measuring the levels of insects and fish, or performing chemical testing, to see how polluted the rivers are. Rivers that flag as having high levels of pollution are then reported to the Environmental Agency to take action.
Mike said: “Pollution comes from lots of different businesses who tip their waste down the drain… people just don’t realise how much these companies are doing this.” However, thanks to the group’s regular monitoring, the levels of pollution have seen a decline.
As well as acting as a guardian to the River Irwell, Mike helped to establish the Kersal Wetlands, which has brought a whole host of new wildlife to the area.
Mike said: “We heard that the council were going to create a new flood basin at the wetlands, and we, alongside the Inspiring Communities group, said, just creating a flood basin isn’t good enough in this huge area.
“If you’re going to spend so much money, there should be a big community benefit, and the benefit we wanted was a wetlands area.”
Following a long period of campaigning, their proposal became a reality.
He said: “It’s been a massive improvement for local wildlife, and it’s also been a massive improvement for local people.
“Because for a long time, the people of Salford had an environment affected by industrial pollution, and it’s only in recent years that wildlife has returned to Salford. We’ve now got things like otters, we’ve got deer, we’ve got kingfishers. And when I was a kid, these were things that you would have to go to a zoo to see, or watch them on a wildlife documentary.
“So, it gives people access to wildlife that they didn’t have before. Seeing these things in the river makes people feel special about where they live. And you know what, Salford’s a really good place.”
Mike’s passion for Salford’s environment is matched by his incredible dedication to its communities, which he supports through his role as Chair of Inspiring Communities. This organisation works with Salfordians of all ages, creating projects that help to make Salford communities a better place for everyone.
Mike has been a driving force behind creating “true” social housing so that people can live within their means, using his background in finance to advise the initiative.
Inspiring Communities currently has nine homes available at what it describes as “true social rent” – unlike affordable housing, which can be rented for up to 80% of local market rates and can cost tenants hundreds of pounds more each month.
He said: “We want to give people the opportunity to have a reasonable life, rather than just giving all their money to a landlord. We’re trying to create a model that is high-quality accommodation but still enables people to have a decent life.”
The group are aspiring to add another 20 houses to their roster over the next year, supporting even more families across the city.
