The last few years have seen the slow decimation of the stretch of Chapel Street opposite Salford Cathedral. Bulldozed were rows of buildings which were allowed to be run down. Companies that owned the buildings, some of which were based offshore, were compensated with £millions of public money as Salford Council slapped a Compulsory Purchase Order on the whole area...
...But what of the local community, which is seeing heritage disappear and unaffordable properties being erected? The Salford Wall is one project that's trying to physically and ideologically reclaim a bit of what was there. And the Old Bank Theatre was chosen by artist Jen Wu for an ambitious community statement that's kicking back against the sterilization of the zone...
"It was originally built by the Royal Liver Friendly Society in 1930 when the government was introducing austerity measures after the 1929 crash" she explains "It was a working class organisation, like a co-operative bank. This is about respecting the history of why that building was built, which is kind of like a coming together of people trying to look after each other within this horrendous exploitative system. I think somehow that building kept looking after people, it was never used for anything bad which is very rare..."
Of course, Salford Council and its partners in the English Cities Fund (ECF - made up of Legal and General, Muse Developments and the Homes and Communities Agency), wanted the Old Bank demolished because, even though it was locally listed, "its scale would be difficult to consolidate with the inspirational heights of the Framework". The `Framework' being the masterplan for the restructuring of the area to, basically, expand Manchester city centre into Salford.
No-one could really stop the demolition of the Old Bank but Jen did somehow get ECF to back her idea to, kind of, preserve one wall of the building...
"What if you could recapture that spirit by doing something real?" she says "What if you could move a wall?"
Jen didn't ask for any financial backing from Salford Council or ECF, and, instead secured £14,000 from the Arts Council and the Henry Moore Foundation, which paid for practical things like a cherry picker lift to colour and number thousands of bricks while the wall was still standing, and move them when the demolition of the old theatre happened. Subsequently at least half of the bricks were saved, with the original aim of re-building the wall on a site 100metres away. Although this is now morphing into different ideas.
"This is about having something physical left, creating a monument for the community and bringing different people together for a common cause" Jen explains "It's kind of like a reclamation of public space, and about the Government taking decisions that aren't of benefit to the local people. It's not a criticism of regeneration so much as trying to offer another way of doing it, so by that it is critical I suppose.
"It relates to saying things like `No' to all the privatisation of everything, like Salix over the housing transfer, and it is a show of protest" she adds "Like,`Here's this wall, we're not putting up with this'... Those bricks and that building are owned by the people of Salford, and this land is managed by ECF on behalf of the Council."
ECF gave the project it's backing, the demolition firm, Bagnall UK, was enthusiastic and even Salford Council reluctantly, eventually, offered its support. Jen, originally from the US and an artist who has worked on community projects in Deptford, is well aware that she hasn't lived through the history of the area and argues that "this is a diva's project unless people want it to happen".
As well as people from Islington Mill, based almost around the corner from the site, more and more local people are getting involved in The Salford Wall project, including mums and teenagers from around the area who have changed Jen's original ideas of it being a rave-inspired happening into something else led by the community.
"I want to get people's input because it could be re-building that wall and saving people's history, or the bricks could be used as blocks to build something else" she says "All I know is that something is possible here and it could be about building a monument to the history of old Salford. It's not for me to say what happens here, I'm just outlining the possibilities of something, not trying to direct it, but something needs to happen."
Suggestions so far include building an amphitheatre as a backdrop for local events, rallies or music events, or just the lone wall as an emblem of cultural resistance. Jen is looking for more ideas from Salford's community – and also, crucially, for people to go to the site and help physically sort the bricks by cleaning the mortar off them ready for re-use.
"I'm told it's very therapeutic, but whoever comes on site there's different things to do" she says "The Salford Wall is just about creating a monument for the community..."
As the Chapel Street Monopoly board is being constructed, with speculative apartment developers nicking past heritage to grab some kind of faux credibility, The Salford Wall project could be the real thing. But it depends on the real community becoming involved.
To get involved contact Jen by e-mail: thewallmustberebuilt@gmail.com
Phone 07766 130 860
See the Facebook group: The Salford Wall or Twitter @thesalfordwall
There's also a website charting the progress – click here
Photos of Jen Wu by Steven Speed
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