Canadian waterfronts sowed the seed now Oslo and Sydney are inspiring Salford Quays

When the late Ben Wallsworth had his vision for the desolate Salford waterfront of 1983 inspiration came from Canada. He remembered a journey he had made to visit his daughter, Christine, in Canada, a few years earlier.

There he saw waterside developments at Vancouver and Victoria which would become fixed in his mind. As the shipping and fishing industries there had dropped, homes and shops were built near the sea front and turned into an area for leisure.

And as a result Ben, Salford's planning committee chairman, along with the then leader of the council, Les Hough, and the council's then chief executive, Roger Rees, would become the architects of a gamble which would transform the city and its reputation.

In a deal struck behind closed doors the council decided to pay £1m for the desolate docklands which had once been the spine of the city's economy. That decision would not only create Salford Quays - but help cement Greater Manchester's reputation as the foremost city region outside the capital.

Now Norway and Australia have been cited as the latest inspirations for the former docklands development. The council has backed plans for up to 3,200 more homes and an extra 800.000 square feet of commercial space.

A revised regeneration framework for MediaCity, has been approved by the city council’s cabinet and it is inspired by the waterfronts of Oslo and Sydney according to Landsec and Peel, which own the scheme. The result would be a boardwalk and bridge.

Stephen Wild, MediaCity managing director, said: “The re-shaped regeneration proposals will support us in delivering a world-class destination where people will want to live, work and learn for many years to come. As the home of future media, MediaCity’s output is