Manchester’s top politician has said there was ‘nothing’ the council could have done to prevent building on New Islington Green.
The Green is set to become Electric Park, a new office complex for small and medium sized businesses. It will feature 2.5 acres of green space — but will sit on what was four acres of grassland.
Although bosses say this new, smaller green area will be of higher quality and improve biodiversity by 30 percent, residents say the work is ‘terrible’ for the area. Furthermore , an opposition councillor has also called for a new park to be built in the vicinity to make up for the loss.
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Now, the Manchester Evening News has questioned Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig on why planning approval was given to the work. Coun Craig was speaking at the opening of the new Mayfield Park when she made her comments .
When asked why building the office block was allowed to press ahead despite residents’ wishes to keep the green space in place, Coun Craig said: “It’s because I don’t own it. Fundamentally, Mayfield is a partnership because we bring things to the table. We dictate what happens on our land.
“We are really clear and able to do that, we’re able to say no. Much has been made of the planning processes, but actually planning policy nationally does not help cities like mine determine the things that we’d like — if a private landowner owns a piece of land and wants to develop that within something that’s legally permissible, there’s nothing we can do.
“What we can do is press for more green space, and we have been. That could have been an office block without any green space, but we have been really clear with the levers that we have, that we want green space added to.
“Where we do have it is Ancoats Green. We have done extensive work with children and families over a play area there. We’re expanding the green space there.
“It has to be seen in the round, there might be individual bits of land which might come up, which we have limited control over what a private owner wants to do with it. Where we do have influence, we are able to set those parameters… where we can influence through planning, it’s always about getting the best deal for the city.”
Mayfield Park itself is a 6.5 acre site which is set to attract thousands of people to the area, once further development has been completed, bosses say.
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