Frustrated campaigners shouted 'shame on you' as controversial plans to transform popular playing fields were handed a multi-million pound boost. Manchester city council gave the green light to a budget of £11.9m for the controversial development at Hough Lane fields in a fiery meeting today (July 13).
Despite more than 600 residents emailing councillors asking them to reject the budget because of ‘negative impacts on climate change and the environment’, and a petition with over 3,300 signatures asking to 'save Hough End Fields', the budget increase was approved. This comes after earlier protests back in March when the controversial plans were given the green light with residents suggesting that they contradict Manchester council's net zero carbon ambitions by tarmacking over grass and encouraging car use.
Town hall bosses recommended a capital budget increase of £11.9m, more than half of which would be funded by borrowing, at a meeting on June 1. Councillors were then asked to approve the extra funding at a meeting today.
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But opposition councillors from the Green Party and the Lib Dems did not support the move, speaking out against the proposals at a fiery meeting.
Green Party councillor Rob Nunney said he is concerned about the increase in traffic that the 127 new car parking spaces would contribute to and he questioned why there were only an additional 24 spaces on bike racks. He welcomed the new changing facilities, but said his party - now the town hall's official opposition group - objects to the floodlit fenced-off 3G pitches.
Lib Dem leader John Leech described the artificial pitches and floodlights as an 'environmental blight' locally and questioned some of the council's claims. He argued that the council failed to make the case for increasing its budget for the project in a way that is consistent with its aims to become net zero carbon.
He said: "These plans can be dropped here and now by Labour members joining us and rejecting the capital spending.
"I know that some Labour councillors don't want to support these plans, the question is whether or not they've got the bottle to reject them."
However, the ruling group supported the move and funding was approved.
Labour councillor John Hacking, who represents Chorlton and is the executive member for skills, employment and leisure, said the expansion of the leisure centre only affects 8 percent of the total area of the site in the Chorlton Park ward. He explained how changes made to the scheme since the original plans were withdrawn to make the development more environmentally friendly than before, including the use of cork infill on the pitches and ground source heat pumps.
He also added that he project is aimed at increasing the participation of young people, girls and women and other less represented groups in sports, saying: "It's important that we move as swiftly as possible to undertake the works that will bring about these improvements as the current inflationary environment that construction companies are operating in means that any delay could lead to significant increased costs.
"Our funding partners have indicated that no additional funds will be available to meet any increased costs."
The issue of pollution and accessibility is one that affects many residents and members of the Save Hough End Fields campaign.
Ali Abbas from the Save Hough End Fields campaign said: “For a council that wants to be a climate leader, the last thing it should be doing is funding a project that will make it even harder to reach its Zero-Carbon City target.
“We support the call by football clubs for investment in changing rooms and pitch maintenance, but not at the expense of the climate, nature and the health and safety of local residents.
“We call on the council to go back to the drawing board and come up with a plan to improve sporting facilities without replacing grass and trees with plastic turf and concrete.”
Melissa Finch, a resident of Withington and masters student of environmental studies, told the Manchester Evening News why the Fields matter. She said: “I use Hough End almost every day of the week to walk my dog. It’s a big enough space that you can be alone and have some privacy.
“I feel like it’s such an important space, not only because it was left to the people to always be free to use by the people, but because it’s a beautiful spot, it’s important to wildlife.
“There’s so many different species there, I’ve seen goldfinches, starling, heron, kingfisher, buzzard, it’s just a really wonderful place to be and by, essentially, privatising it, it feels like a betrayal.
“More and more public land is disappearing to the private sector and it just feels like a betrayal of public interest and once this green space is gone, you can’t get it back.
“I would be less bothered if the pitches were free to use, because we live in a deprived area, but they’re not and they’re booked out most of the time already and they’re pay to use and I don’t see how that’s going to benefit the community.
“It is so important to social wellbeing that we have that green space. It’s the public right and they should be acting for the public.”
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