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Birley Fields Under Threat from MMU
Birley Fields is a large area of green open space in Hulme south of the City Centre, which is under threat of development by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). Development plans go against the wishes of local residents who would rather see the site remain as green, open space, and accessible to the community. The film to the right was made in 2006, at a street party raising awareness of the value of Birley Fields as a natural space in the heart of the city.
How local people would like to see Birley Fields used
MMU have undertaken a consultation, asking what local people think of their plans for a large new campus which will cover the Birley Fields. Unhappy about loss of green space, and the fact that MMU has not even asked Hulme people if they would like a campus in the first place, a local residents group called Our Hulme are conducting an independent community consultation. The consultation aims to find out how much of Birley Fields people would like to see remain as green space, and also what kinds of activities they would like to see developed on the site - university campus or otherwise?
The survey is very short, and can be completed online, or paper based versions are available at various public places around Hulme. The survey was launched in mid October, and the chart above shows initial results, informing that out of 106 people who answered the question, almost 40% of them would like to see Birley Fields remain entirely as green space.
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If you have not yet entered the survey please complete the online version here, it is important for us to get the opinions of as wide a diversity of people as possible.
- More information, and an analysis of the initial survey results can be found here.
Read an article on Birley Fields here in Manchester's very own Mule - the newspaper with a kick ..
It's Our Hulme
The picture to the left is looking east from Birley Fields towards Oxford Rd and the City Centre.
Below are a set of links to Our Hulme resources, including local videos, archive material from a 2006 Friends of Birley Fields campaign, and information about the current MMU threat.
Our Hulme are also on facebook.
Thank you for visiting the site. Please leave us your feedback .. and come back soon.
Header and footer art by Frey Wille.
Comments
well, with some transcription
well, with some transcription company help we can be so much more inspired over here, don't you think so?
MMU and Birley Fields
I take this one with a bit of scepticism.
So called Birley Fields is a rough bit of ground that is hardly used for anything. Not for amenity, not for food production. MMU plans to consolidate much of its operation on one site, aiming to be the most low carbon Univ campus so far. Te site is well situatied for public transport unlike Didsbury so car use is likely to decrease.
Thre is a real issue about open space in the city but we should be campaigning for this more strategically, for example turning the plot at Greenheys (Gt Western St) into community supported horticulture production, or converting some of the many car parks in the city centre into gardens and parks.
Been to Birley fields a few
Been to Birley fields a few times looking at it as a case study for my thesis ("Design against Crime"). Found needles, saline pods, used condoms, ten empty whisky bottles, burnt foil and numerous beer cans and bottles under the footbridge and in bushes there. I visited over the course of two months, and none of it has been cleaned up. I read that the footbridge is locally known as 'mugger's bridge' (Vivacity 2020 project 2003, Drivers Jonas consultation 2010). Furthermore, there are exposed utilities, small pitfalls and the topsoil itself is only about two inches before you reach rubble.
The whole site needs redeveloping. Even if it's just to remain as open ground, the footbridge and surrounding bushes should go and the ground properly made.