Permanent tribute to "Salford's finest son" who was brutally killed in Syria

Six years after Eccles taxi driver-turned-volunteer aid worker Alan Henning was brutally murdered by so-called Islamic State in Syria, a major Salford road will be named after him, the Local Democracy Reporting Service can reveal.

He will be honoured in his hometown after hundreds of people signed a petition last year calling for a permanent tribute to “Salford’s finest son”.

Salford councillors agreed to name a road in Eccles after Alan last July.

Now, the local authority has confirmed that the Salford Western Gateway, a one-mile dual carriageway which connects the A57 Liverpool Road and Trafford Way to the east of the M60, will be renamed Alan Henning Way.

The road, soon to be in public ownership, is part of Port Salford, the UK’s first inland port and distribution hub which is served by short sea shipping, using the Manchester Ship Canal, rail and roads linking it to the motorway network.

Salford City Council is working with the developer Peel Holdings to complete the process of adopting the road after which it will be formally renamed.

City mayor Paul Dennett said it will be “an honour” to name the road after Alan.

He said: “The new road was chosen for several reasons.

“It is a vital, international distribution link and an essential part of the Port Salford scheme.

“As the port continues to grow, Alan Henning Way will become an even more important gateway to Salford.

“There is so much of Alan in that – a man who was a vital part of humanitarian aid missions and a man willing to give up his home comforts to travel internationally to distribute goods to families and children in desperate need.

“It will be an honour to see his name on the signs so that his bravery and kindness are never forgotten.”

'A local hero'

The father-of-two was kidnapped while delivering aid to Syria in 2013 and became the fourth Western hostage killed by Islamic State 11 months later.

The brutal murder was revealed in a beheading video on October 3, 2014.

Barbara Keeley, the MP for Worsley and Eccles, asked the then Prime Minster to award Alan with a national honour one year after his death aged 47.

The Labour MP said David Cameron did not agree to her repeated requests.

But she is “delighted” by the decision to rename a road in Eccles after Alan.

She said: “Alan was a local hero and local people wanted a tribute to him, knowing that he had given his life taking aid to children and families in need in Syria.

“It is right that the city of Salford is naming a road after Alan and people in Salford and across the UK will be pleased with this tribute to his compassion and generous spirit.”

In 2016, after discussions with Alan’s family, Salford City Council created a memorial park to him at Eccles Recreation Ground, where people gathered to light candles and hold a silent vigil after news of his murder was revealed.

The design is based on a clock face and features a circular flower bed with yellow flowers and plants, wooden sleepers painted yellow and two granite boulders bearing memorial plaques to recall to the yellow ribbons that were used to show solidarity with Alan’s family during his captivity and after he was murdered. A family headstone at Eccles Parish Church also bears his name.

Eccles ward councillor, Coun Shamina August, added: “Alan touched the lives of so many people. Thousands of people across the city spoke out and said they wanted a way to make sure Alan was never forgotten as a true son of Salford. This road will make sure we remember that the world would be a better place, if we all showed the same Spirit of Salford as Alan did.”