A new public garden in memory of Alan Henning is to open in May, and the whole community is being invited to attend.
From 6pm on Tuesday 17 May Salford City Council officials, alongside the Henning family and friends, will unveil the circular garden at Eccles Recreation Ground, off Liverpool Road in Eccles.
The chair of Churches Together, Rev Dr Anne-Louise Critchlow, will also lead attendees in prayer on the night.
The local park is considered the perfect place for an outgoing memorial.
It was here at Eccles Rec where the community came together, when Alan was captured by Islamic State militants to hold candlelit vigils for his safe release, and here where they turned when news of his death shocked the world.
Alan was known for his sense of humour among friends and colleagues
Read: Why Alan ‘Gadget’ Henning is important to Salford and Eccles
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Park group the Friends of Eccles Rec have been helping by painting railings over the past two weeks and getting the garden ready for planting.
It’ll feature a pathway leading to a circular garden with yellow flowers and plants, while the upright wooden sleepers are being painted yellow, and two granite boulders will bear memorial plaques.
The garden before work started
What it’s hoped the garden will look like when complete
The garden itself has been produced by Urban Vision, who donated all of their time for free.
Local firms including P F Cusack of Westhoughton, Hardscape Products Ltd, Bolton and Jotun Paints (Europe) Ltd of Scunthorpe, Travis Perkins of Eccles and the Dulux Decorators Centre in Salford donated materials to the cause.
Taxi driver Alan was murdered by Isis fanatics in October 2014 after being captured by the terrorist group while on a volunteer humanitarian aid mission to Syria.
The 47-year-old, known as Gadget to his friends, is remembered with yellow ribbons which are still tied to lampposts and bollards in Eccles town centre.
The unveiling event will start from 6pm on Tuesday 17 May at Eccles Recreational Ground, off Liverpool Road, Eccles. All are welcome.
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