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The River Medlock flows west from Tameside & Oldham into Manchester. It runs for 13 miles (including passing through Clayton Vale) before merging with the Irwell at Castlefield. The Industrial revolution exacted a heavy toll on the river, factories & waste tips lining its banks decreased the water quality to such an extent that the river stopped being able to support a fish population. Recent restoration has, however, improved water quality, the river was restocked with fish, and wildlife such as herons and kingfishers can often be seen now.

Manchester Mayfield is a former railway station located on the south side of Fairfield Street, opposite Manchester Piccadilly station.

Opened in 1910, by the London and North Western Railway, Mayfield was constructed as four-platform relief station adjacent to Manchester London Road (now Piccadilly) Station to alleviate overcrowding. Four platforms were provided and passengers could reach London Road via a high-level footbridge.

Mayfield was a relief station mainly used by extra trains and suburban services to the south of Manchester. For example, in 1957-58 timetable train services were listed to Cheadle Hulme, Buxton, Alderley Edge, Chelford and Stockport on weekdays. For a brief period in the late 1950s, Mayfield came into its own during the electrification and modernisation of what was to become Piccadilly Station when many services were diverted to it. It was closed to passengers on 28 August 1960.

The site was converted into a parcels depot which opened in 1970. Royal Mail constructed a sorting office on the opposite side of the main line and connected it to Mayfield with an overhead conveyor bridge which crossed the throat of Piccadilly Station. The depot closed in 1986 following the decision by Parcelforce, Royal Mail's parcels division, to abandon rail transport in favour of road haulage. The building has remained disused ever since, with the tracks into Mayfield removed in 1989 as part of the remodelling of the Piccadilly Station layout.

After years of abandonment and many proposed development schemes, the station roof was dismantled in February 2013. In November 2013, planning permission was granted for conversion of the station to an entertainment venue with a maximum capacity of up to 7,500 people (Link BBC News and Link Manchester Evening News)

Derelict Places (Link ) has photos of the interior of the derelict site.

Update: “The story so far” (2019) : Link