The opening of Manchester’s urban park in the sky has been delayed — and might not open until several weeks after officially announced. The Castlefield Viaduct project was set to open on July 3.
However, bosses at the National Trust — the driving force behind the £1.8 million project — say ‘unexpected delays’ will push opening back to ‘no later than the end of July’. More information for ticket holders is coming soon, they added.
Work is well underway on transforming half of the 330m-long section of the former railway viaduct, which is Grade-II listed. It was last used to transport trains in 1969.
Initially opening as a ‘pilot park’ to see how a more permanent offering could be used, tickets were made available earlier this month. The free tickets were in high demand.
Tickets were introduced by the National Trust in order to limit the number of visitors on the structure at any given time. This is to ensure the Victorian metalwork does not become overloaded.
However, it has now been confirmed that doors will no open on Sunday, July 3, as planned. A spokesperson for the National Trust said: “Due to an unexpected delay to work on Castlefield Viaduct we are unable to open to visitors on 3 July as planned.
“Work is happening behind the scenes to get the site ready to welcome visitors and we're planning to open no later than the end of July. We'll be sharing more updates soon and contacting members of the public who have booked a free ticket to let them know about these changes.”
You can find out more about the project online .
