Mad Eyed Screamer
Moderator
Thursday 27th October is D Day (Development Day) for the good people of Moston.
After months of campaigning on both sides, Manchester city council's planning dept meets to decide as to whether a semi professional football club can be handed a piece of green and covenanted land for free, plus a hand out of council tax payers money (a share of £700,000) to build a stadium on St Mary's Road / Lightbowne Rd in Moston.
The committee are meeting at the field at 11am and then back at the town hall for 2pm.
Deep down, most of those local people campaigning against it, know that the green light will be given - many feel the whole thing has been stitched up from day one (very, very few people objected to the original plans for Ten Acres Lane in Newton Heath and the council completely miss-judged residents opinion in Moston, believing we would offer the same support as in Newton Heath.)
The difference is, Newton Heath was a brown field site, well away from residential houses (except one small road behind one goal) with plenty of space for parking and very little (if any) effect on wildlife and biodiversity. Newton Heath also carried the emotional attachment to the origins of MUFC.
The Moston site is completely the opposite, being on a green site in a much bigger residential area, with secondary issues - one such being on site parking. There is also a far greater impact on wildlife, such as bats and water voles, as the field is right next to Broadhurst Clough (listed on the council's own website as an important wildlife area within the Irk Valley - the Dean Brook trickles through the Clough and then into the culverted Moston Brook yards from the Dean Brook pub on St Mary's Road)
The issue in Moston has never been about FCUM being in the area (a convenient excuse to dismiss residents genuine concerns), but about the site being totally inappropriate for this size of development (or any development for that matter, with the land having a covenant on it.)
Labour run Manchester city council have offered FCUM the land, Richard Leese, the Labour council leader is a big chum of FCUM and their aims / objectives (I have no issue with that in isolation) and today councillors (the majority of whom being Labour councillors) will decide the fields fate.
Will the councillors decide independently or have they already been tapped up? - it has already been recommended to them that they accept the proposal to build the 5000 capacity stadium.
Protesters do have legal representation today (and given a total of FOUR minutes to present their case at the meeting!!)
Should - if as expected - the stadium is given the go ahead, then an appeal can be called for. Whilst the council has been able to ensure legal issues have been dealt with in a professional manner (and paid for by council tax payers), local Moston residents have had to have whip rounds and organsise charity nights in order to pay to be represented as best they can. A small number of legal companies approached backed off once they discovered we were up against the council - they may their have hands in other council matters (or may need support of the council on other future matters)!
David v Goliath is no understatement here.
To end, 90 years ago, a piece of land was donated to the people of Moston and Manchester by a Edward Tootal in the memory of Ronald Johnson, who died fighting for his country in WW1. The land was sold to Manchester Corporation a decade or so later, in a bid to prevent it falling into the hands of developers who had their eyes on the land. Restrictions were placed on the land with this sale and Manchester Corporation were left as guardians of the land, allowing future generations to enjoy it.
Today, councillors representing Manchester city council will decide whether or not a semi professional football club can be given that very land to build a 5000 capacity stadium on.....
Thanks for reading.....
After months of campaigning on both sides, Manchester city council's planning dept meets to decide as to whether a semi professional football club can be handed a piece of green and covenanted land for free, plus a hand out of council tax payers money (a share of £700,000) to build a stadium on St Mary's Road / Lightbowne Rd in Moston.
The committee are meeting at the field at 11am and then back at the town hall for 2pm.
Deep down, most of those local people campaigning against it, know that the green light will be given - many feel the whole thing has been stitched up from day one (very, very few people objected to the original plans for Ten Acres Lane in Newton Heath and the council completely miss-judged residents opinion in Moston, believing we would offer the same support as in Newton Heath.)
The difference is, Newton Heath was a brown field site, well away from residential houses (except one small road behind one goal) with plenty of space for parking and very little (if any) effect on wildlife and biodiversity. Newton Heath also carried the emotional attachment to the origins of MUFC.
The Moston site is completely the opposite, being on a green site in a much bigger residential area, with secondary issues - one such being on site parking. There is also a far greater impact on wildlife, such as bats and water voles, as the field is right next to Broadhurst Clough (listed on the council's own website as an important wildlife area within the Irk Valley - the Dean Brook trickles through the Clough and then into the culverted Moston Brook yards from the Dean Brook pub on St Mary's Road)
The issue in Moston has never been about FCUM being in the area (a convenient excuse to dismiss residents genuine concerns), but about the site being totally inappropriate for this size of development (or any development for that matter, with the land having a covenant on it.)
Labour run Manchester city council have offered FCUM the land, Richard Leese, the Labour council leader is a big chum of FCUM and their aims / objectives (I have no issue with that in isolation) and today councillors (the majority of whom being Labour councillors) will decide the fields fate.
Will the councillors decide independently or have they already been tapped up? - it has already been recommended to them that they accept the proposal to build the 5000 capacity stadium.
Protesters do have legal representation today (and given a total of FOUR minutes to present their case at the meeting!!)
Should - if as expected - the stadium is given the go ahead, then an appeal can be called for. Whilst the council has been able to ensure legal issues have been dealt with in a professional manner (and paid for by council tax payers), local Moston residents have had to have whip rounds and organsise charity nights in order to pay to be represented as best they can. A small number of legal companies approached backed off once they discovered we were up against the council - they may their have hands in other council matters (or may need support of the council on other future matters)!
David v Goliath is no understatement here.
To end, 90 years ago, a piece of land was donated to the people of Moston and Manchester by a Edward Tootal in the memory of Ronald Johnson, who died fighting for his country in WW1. The land was sold to Manchester Corporation a decade or so later, in a bid to prevent it falling into the hands of developers who had their eyes on the land. Restrictions were placed on the land with this sale and Manchester Corporation were left as guardians of the land, allowing future generations to enjoy it.
Today, councillors representing Manchester city council will decide whether or not a semi professional football club can be given that very land to build a 5000 capacity stadium on.....
Thanks for reading.....