Developer given permission to close 300-year-old public footpath in Salford

Campaigners in Manchester say citizens' rights to the river should not be sacrificed for private gain'

A developer has been given permission to close a 300-year-old riverside footpath and divert pedestrians through a back street or through a hotel lobby in what critics say is the latest egregious example of the privatisation of public space.

Campaigners in Greater Manchester have made an 11th-hour attempt to stop the path by the River Irwell being shut, saying citizens had a fundamental right" to walk along the river, which should not be sacrificed for private gain".