In 1991 I won a commission from Salford City Council to document what was then the beginning of the city’s regeneration.

Instead of photographing the physical changes – the newly-developed Salford Quays, the reclaimed industrial land – I set out to portray the people who were behind the changes and those affected by them.

I photographed council leaders, entrepreneurs, community activists and people with new jobs or new homes. It’s been an approach that has continued through much of the regeneration work that has followed: I’ve always been more interested in the people than the places.

The exhibition, Faces of Change: Salford’s New Era was shown at the city’s Viewpoint Gallery (since closed) and subsequently nominated for the Fox Talbot Prize at the 1992 ICI Photography Awards.