Ben Wallsworth MBE: Remembering the man who helped rebuild Salford
War hero and councillor Ben Wallsworth transformed the city through vision, regeneration and decades of public service.
This week we look at the life of a Salford legend, investigate the quietest place in Europe (it’s in Salford) and share the biggest stories from around the city this week. If you enjoyed it, please forward this newsletter to someone who might enjoy it. Got a tip? Let us know at Now@Salford.ac.uk
“A true son of Salford”
Two years after the passing of Ben Wallsworth MBE at the age of 103, Salford continues to benefit from the remarkable life and legacy of a man who shaped its modern identity. A war hero, councillor, visionary planner and environmental champion, Wallsworth’s contributions have had a profound and lasting impact on the city he loved.
Salford Quays, now a bustling waterside destination and cultural landmark, stands as a living testament to the vision of one man: Ben Wallsworth MBE. Long before the shimmering façade of MediaCityUK came into view, Wallsworth saw potential in a desolate and forgotten stretch of dockland. It was his relentless ambition, shaped by global perspective and local pride, that helped redefine this vital element of Greater Manchester’s urban identity.
It was a trip abroad that first stirred the idea of Salford Quays and Media City. In the early 1980s, during a visit to see his daughter Christine in Canada, Wallsworth was struck by the transformative waterfront developments in Vancouver and Victoria. These vibrant, regenerated spaces left a lasting impression. On returning home to Salford, the Weaste, Langworthy and Blackfriars councillor began to ask: if they can do it, why can’t we? The Salford Docks, once central to the city's industrial strength but by then abandoned and derelict, became the focus of his drive for change.
Wallsworth persuaded Salford City Council leader Les Hough and chief executive Roger Rees to take a bold step. The council subsequently acquired part of the ship canal and docklands from Manchester Council for £1 million in 1983, using a derelict land grant. At the time, it was a risk; today, it is seen as visionary. Within a decade, public and private investment in the area had soared to around £280 million. The site evolved into what is now Salford Quays and MediaCityUK, home to the BBC, ITV and one of the UK’s leading cultural, sporting and leisure destinations.
Salford Mayor Paul Dennett credited Wallsworth with “kickstarting one of the most successful regeneration projects in the UK,” describing him as “a true son of Salford” and “a giant in the history of our proud city”. He added, “Ben embodies everything which we could ever hope to see from someone bestowed with the honour of the Freedom of the City.”
Wallsworth’s instinct for city-building wasn’t confined to concrete and cranes. He was also a fierce advocate for green space and community life. His planning legacy includes the Worsley Greenway, a policy that continues to protect valuable land from development, preserving open space between Walkden and Eccles. He championed the transformation of Blackleach into a country park and helped deliver the Red Rose Forest project, which led to the planting of over one million trees across Greater Manchester.
“He was a green campaigner before it was even a thing,” recalled former councillor Derek Antrobus, who worked alongside Wallsworth. “He was always keen on creating good spaces for people to enjoy their lives.” Antrobus remembers Wallsworth’s determination in securing Blackleach for the community, calling him “a wonderful man who did so much for Salford”.
Wallsworth’s ability to visualise the future of his city was deeply rooted in personal experience. Born in Ordsall in 1920, he grew up near the Docks he would later help transform. His wartime service forged the resilience and resolve that defined his public life. As a young man in the Royal Army Service Corps during the Second World War, he found himself stranded with the British Expeditionary Forces on the beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940, spending his 20th birthday as nearly 200,000 British troops waited to be evacuated from the advancing German forces.
He refused to abandon his gun as instructed during the retreat to Dunkirk, and used it to defend his unit from aerial attacks when they were trapped on the beaches for three days and nights. He also took the gun aboard the ship, which rescued them when the vessel was attacked by German planes.
After the war, Wallsworth returned to Salford and worked for many years at Farmer Norton’s Engineering Company on Adelphi Street. But it was his community involvement that truly launched his political journey. Campaigning to keep school playgrounds open in the evenings so children could play safely, he helped revive Salford’s once-pioneering play street initiative, first established in the 1930s and reintroduced in the 1980s under his influence.
Elected to Salford Council on 9 May 1957, Wallsworth served for 44 years, with only a short gap between 1968 and 1971. He represented Labour across Weaste, Langworthy and Blackfriars wards, and eventually led the council’s planning committee in the 1970s and 80s, shaping policies that would serve the city for decades. He remained in office until his retirement on 10 June 2004.
Wallsworth’s dedication was recognised with the MBE in 2001, presented by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2019, just days before his 100th birthday, he received the Freedom of the City of Salford. He passed away in 2023, aged 103, leaving behind a city that bears his imprint at every turn.
From defending his comrades on the beaches of Dunkirk to reshaping the skyline of Salford, Ben Wallsworth’s life was marked by service, vision and a fierce loyalty to the people of his city. Two years after his death, in June 2023, Salford continues to owe a great debt to his imagination and determination.
Three Salford men who wrote books detailing decade-long drug racket jailed for 40 years
Three men have been jailed for more than 40 years for dealing drugs worth up to £52m, after police discovered notebooks that implicated them.
Payden Candland, Leo Groves and Ricky Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs at Bolton Crown Court after a six-year investigation.
Detectives recovered several handwritten notebooks appearing to show detailed drugs transactions dating back to 2009 and implicated Candland, Groves and Lee. Read more here.
“It’s a testament to the power of community” – Salford community group celebrates 1,000th bag of litter collected
A community litter picking group, Clean Up Salford Quays, has celebrated a major milestone collecting over 1,000 bags of litter.
The campaign relaunched in October 2023, and has been looking to make a difference in the community. Read more here.
Fourth man charged in relation to chaotic scenes on Lower Broughton Road
A man from Salford has been charged with a public order offence following chaotic scenes on Lower Broughton Road earlier this month.
Robert Service of Weaste Road, Salford, has been charged with a Section 4A Public Order relating to disorder on Lower Broughton Road in Salford on Wednesday 11 June 2025, when vehicles were set on fire and driven in an erratic manner. Read more here.
What’s on this weekend in Salford
🧑🎨 Join the artists behind the Salford Museum & Art Gallery exhibition Fragments of Time for this exclusive insight into their work. The exhibition brings together four female artists whose artistic practices explore fragility, place and change. For this event, Naomi Kendrick, Lizzie King and Susan Wright take turns touring the space, discussing their work in depth and answering visitor questions.
Artist talk: Fragment of Time, Salford Museum & Art Gallery, 1-2pm, Saturday 28 June, tickets not required
⚽ The final four performances of the National Theatre’s Olivier Award-winning smash hit play at the Lowry this weekend, following a record-breaking run in the West End. The play covers the “uplifting, heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring story of Gareth Southgate’s revolutionary tenure as England manager”.
Dear England, Lowry, 27-29 June, tickets from £20
🛍️ Face painting, live music, street food, crafting and Salford Astronomical Society on hand for an astronomical chat. Plus handmade gifts and homeware to art, fashion, skincare, sweet treats and more at the Quayside Makers Market this weekend.
Quayside Media City Makers Market, 28-29 June, tickets not required
Picture of the week: The quietest place in Salford (and Europe)
“Total silence is something that we never encounter in nature,” says Jos Hirst, lecturer in Audio Technology, of ‘the quietest room in Europe’.
“Whenever I am touring people around I always ask if they’re okay and make it clear that if they feel uneasy or claustrophobic then they can leave.”
Within the Audio Technology department in the University of Salford’s Newton Building is a unique room, boasting a background sound level lower than the human ear can hear.
The existing room was opened in 2006 when the faculty moved to Newton at a cost of about £1 million. The room itself is covered in absorbent foam material that prevents echoes and is also partially separated from the rest of the building to prevent vibrations interrupting delicate readings. As well as the sound insulating cones on the wall and ceilings, the floor is even on a spring system to prevent vibrations from below.
It is used by companies including the BBC and Granada to test audio equipment, demonstrate noise measurement in modules on acoustics in teaching, or even for Richard Hammond to break a glass using guitar noise.
The silence in the anechoic chamber is so complete it can be measured in minus decibels. So while the quietest sound the human ear can hear is 0Db and the noise of leaves rustling on the ground is around 30Db, the chamber clocks in at an eerily quiet -12.4 decibels.
Jos says the lack of sound can be unnerving to visitors. “It cuts off the hearing senses totally, which can feel quite unnatural,” he continues.
“If you were in there on your own with the lights off and the doors shut, you might start to hallucinate or feel uneasy. Some people claim they can hear the blood going through the vessels in their ears.”
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