Permaculture Manchester . . . lets put some green on the urban scene

40% prefer it to remain entirely green!

Our Hulme began its independent consultation on local people's opinions about Birley Fields in mid October. The following 2 charts show the opinions of the first 106 respondents. This page will be updated periodically as more people complete the survey.

The above chart shows that from 106 respondents:

• almost 40% would like to see Birley Fields remain entirely as green space;
• 76% of people would like to see half or more of the area remain as green space;
• less than 2% would like to see most of the green space developed.

Although the survey does not ask the question, their is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the sections local people would most like to see remain as green space, are the area known as 'Birley Common' opposite the post office, and the adjacent stretch down to Homes For Change housing co-op. These are exactly the areas where MMU plans to construct its high density 5,000 student campus. In terms of surface area, they are also the two most significant plots of land.

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.
 

Our Hulme's new survey about Birley Fields, and the threat by MMU is now live online. Please click on the following link to complete the survey (only do this if you have not completed a paper based version of the questionnaire):

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=BY73WGlVv0KdeHyEqycOCg_3d_3d

It is our intention that this consultation should reach as wide a cross selection of local people as possible, so please forward this message to anybody that you think might be interested.