The proposed development of Ryebank Fields has been protested against for years. The grassland, owned by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), has been used by residents of both Chorlton and Trafford as a place to walk dogs and enjoy nature since the university stopped using the land for sports and recreation back in 1996.
Campaigns by residents, community groups and Extinction Rebellion have not, so far, managed to stop MMU going ahead with their plans for the land to be developed into a sustainable neighbourhood of 120 homes.
And, earlier this month, MMU announced their preferred developers to take on the project - a partnership between Southway Housing and Step Plan. The proposed plans include at least 20 percent affordable housing, net zero carbon housing and a third of the site remaining open to the public.
Despite this, many residents in the community and people who use Ryebank Fields often are still against the development of the site entirely.
Hannah Stanton, a teacher and resident of Trafford doesn’t think it’s viable to build 120 houses on the site. She said: “It’s pretty devastating, I think there’s a widespread sense of devastation and anger amongst the community about the realness of it.
“I think the idea of 120 houses on this site is complete nonsense. There’s nowhere near enough space for that and to think that any of the wild space would be preserved, because there would have to be access, roads that would destroy large sways of the habitat.
“One of the things that they said is that there will be community facilities on the land, which is such a frustrating thing to hear. I don’t know what facilities they’re thinking of, but it’s an amenity that’s perfect as it is for us.
“It’s just extremely arrogant to think that we can do better than what nature has put there itself. We’re all outraged.
“If MMU is serious about being a sustainable university, then this site offers them many possibilities to use as part of their sustainable educational programmes. There’s absolutely no need to sell it to developers and it absolutely tarnishes their green credentials.
“It’s a visceral sense of shock and our job now is to make sure that those developers understand just how strong the community's opposition to the development is, how united we are as a community and how prepared we are to fight for the fields.
“They’re going to have the fight of their lives if they choose to press ahead.”
MMU was named as the UK's most sustainable university in 2021 and, in line with their practices, the university chose The Step Places and Southway Housing Trust's proposal as it is most in keeping with Manchester Met’s ambitions to deliver a sustainable development. By selling the suburban asset of Ryebank Fields, MMU would meet their goal of consolidating their campus into one city centre site, while, they say, providing 'much-needed housing in line with Manchester City Council ’s development plans for the Chorlton area'.
However, Kane Clover, of Whalley Range, doesn't think Chorlton needs more housing. "It seems to be all about money, none of the local residents want it," he said. "The parking situation is really bad as it is, so it’s just going to make traffic worse.
“Chorlton is already pretty crowded, we don’t need more houses there at all. I think it’s going to increase the flood risk.
“In the news you see all about climate change and various places are on fire and then they’re like ‘we’ll build a load more houses and chop down a load of mature trees'. It’s absolutely disgusting. They’re meant to be enriching the area with academia, not flipping land that’s been given to them.
“The crazy thing is, is that Chorlton is such a desirable area because of all of the greenery. They’re just saying they’ll chop down one of the things that makes it desirable."
Paul Harnett, a member of the Friends of Ryebank Fields who stood in the 2021 Chorlton by-election on a platform of saving the fields, explained that the campaign will continue with new rounds of leafleting, letters and fire in the belly. “Know your enemies and deal with them," he said.
“Obviously we’re upset, but now we know the name of the developers, we’re going to do everything we can to stop it. Which was what we were doing anyway.
“We’re up against serious money here. They’re all interested in money, that’s basically it and you know the Friends of Ryebank Fields, the camp, we’re interested in people and the environment.
“It’s madness, especially when you consider the climate emergency and having to listen to all of this greenwash. The hypocrisy with it all is galling.”
Tina Elliot, of Chorlton, is a part of ‘tower duty’, watching over Ryebank Fields for more than a year to warn other residents of developers on the fields.
Explaining why she thinks they should be left alone, she said: "It’s a green space, adds to our wellbeing, to wildlife, to the environment, all of these reasons are positive and then there are the negatives against digging up stuff that should be left there. The asbestos and the heavy metals and things.
“There’s stuff coming out in the news all of the time about how green spaces create wellbeing for people. This is a piece of land that’s not like the park, it’s not like the Mersey, it’s wild.”
Tina is also worried about an increase in traffic. “Local residents are very concerned about the traffic as it is now," she said. "They want traffic calming, they want road closure, they want access only for the surrounding roads. They’re worried about the danger for the schools.
“The safety is an issue and the process of getting rid of the chemicals and the waste and what is in the ground getting carried away to make the footing and foundations for houses."
Meanwhile, a Stretford resident and committee member of the Friends of Ryebank Fields group, who asked just to known as Sarah, explained why she thinks Ryebank Fields is so important to Manchester. “Liveable cities give us spaces to breathe, walk and play, and to feel part of nature and build our communities.," she said. "For me Ryebank does that all perfectly and I don't need a car to get there."
“We've all realised how much we need nature over the last few years, it's been the best thing for my mental health during the lockdowns and I can feel how much I still need it now.
“Manchester has a pretty progressive approach to housing policy, and it's something Bev Craig is rightly determined to make progress with, we support that principle. Here though, it would be at most 24 affordable homes, when there has been no noticeable progress on Chorlton baths, there are thousands of empty homes in Manchester and thousands more planning approvals for new builds already in the pipeline to be built over the next five or six years. Losing Ryebank Fields would be a very high price to pay in the face of that.”
Jo Murphy, 56, a concerned resident who has lived in Chorlton for 32 years is really worried about the environmental impact of turning greenland like Ryebank Fields into housing. She said: “Obviously we’d expected it, I don’t think any of us thought ‘oh yes MMU have now relented, that big red house (the protest house) has really frightened them’.
“I think lots of us are prepared to step up in terms of, what does this mean if the bulldozers roll in? I think we’re all prepared for that. But it’s going to be another long, drawn out, dragged out process.
“I’m hugely disappointed, tired if I’m honest. I think for me as a mother of three and someone who is involved in multiple campaigns, I feel quite exhausted by the fact that we have to continuously battle against our council and government to do the right thing.
“None of it seems to make sense, because whatever they say about it being social housing they’re going to have to have some really prime, luxury houses on there that sell for a premium. They’re going to have to be because the cost of remediation alone means they’ll have to be those kinds of houses.
“The streets are already gridlocked, we’re already struggling for school places. To take up green space is, as I say, at this point in the planet's history, is utterly negligent and borderline immoral.”
Chorlton Community Land Trust released a statement on their website, that said: “Chorlton Community Land Trust’s position on Ryebank Fields is that should development go ahead, we wish to engage proactively with MMU and their selected development partners to ensure an exemplar development which, amongst other features, maximises affordable housing and has high levels of environmental sustainability.
“Last year, through MMU, our Board engaged with the shortlisted developers including Step Places/Southway Housing Trust to challenge them on how far they would comply with the broad range of expectations and aspirations that we developed with members. We will be providing a further update to our members on our involvement in this process.
“Although plans will be evolving, we hope that our engagement to date has helped MMU select the developers whose proposals will align most closely to the aspirations of our members, and particularly on the need for further meaningful community involvement in the next phase of the process. CCLT will be working to encourage Step Places/Southway Housing Trust to further engage with us and with other members of the local community as they develop more detailed plans for Ryebank Fields.”
Step Places and Southway Housing will now begin work on a public consultation before submitting a planning application to Manchester City Council. Plans for the public consultation on their initial plans will be announced soon.
Chorlton Ward's councillors were contacted for comment.
What MMU and the developers say:
Earlier this month, Gareth Smith, development director at Step Places said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by the University as the lead developer for the site, alongside Southway Housing Trust. We understand that delivering new homes is about much more than delivering just bricks and mortar. It’s about delivering sustainable neighbourhoods and communities that people love."
Meanwhile, Karen Mitchell, chief executive at Southway Housing Trust said: “We are pleased to have joined Step Places, as the partner that will deliver much-needed affordable homes to Chorlton and help to address Manchester’s desperate housing shortage."
Professor Karen Moore, chief operating officer at Manchester Met, has said: “Step Places and Southway Housing have an impressive track record of delivering sustainable developments, making them inclusive, safe and resilient. This reflects the importance that the University attaches to sustainability.
“We are recognised nationally as a university where sustainability forms an integral part of our teaching, research and campus development.”
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