Andy Burnham has come under fire for the amount of green space in Manchester city centre on social media. One Twitter user has criticised the amount of greenery in town as ‘not viable’.
Todd Cooper, tweeting as @todd_j_cooper, took to the platform to ask the Mayor of Greater Manchester how he planned to introduce more greenery and water facilities to the city centre. His question was sent on the hottest day in the history of the UK, when the mercury hit 37°C in Manchester at 2pm on Tuesday (July 19).
He said: “Anyone walking through Manchester today can see that the current status quo isn’t viable. We need trees, lots of them. We need water fountains. We need shady parks. We need to greenscape this city. What are you going to do Andy Burnham and more importantly how can we help?"
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The Mayor, who oversees the entire city-region, and not just Manchester, replied that his teams are working with other public sector bodies to build new parks. The Labour politician said: “I don’t disagree Todd. We’re supporting the City Council with the building of a new park near Piccadilly and creating a raised “High Line” park in Castlefield. But always open as to how we can do more.”
The Castlefield park in the skies is set to open at the end of this month, and the Mayfield Park will follow suit in the autumn. However, Todd argued that more trees should be planted across the city, to introduce shade to other parts of town.
He continued: “Thanks for replying Andy, can’t wait for the new parks! It would be great to see some proper tree lined avenues in the city itself! There’s so much room in our streets with massive roads in the city centre it would be an opportunity to really greenscape the city!
“I know so many people would love to be involved in a new greenscaping initiative, not just for the odd days when it’s hot but also for the air quality and to make our city look even more beautiful!”
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