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| Tib St building has fallen into disrepair |
Residents in the Northern Quarter have taken to Twitter to
say they feel “abandoned” and “ignored” by the council as historic buildings in
the area continue to crumble.
It comes as increasingly more historic buildings face the threat of demolition instead of restoration and plans for expensive high-rise apartment blocks
are on the rise.
I sat down with Joanne Cross who runs the residents’ group
Northern Quarter Forum. She believes rents have become too high in the area forcing people to move out,
leaving buildings empty and able to fall into disrepair.
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| 19th century Thomas St block in threat of collapse |
"It's truly shocking, what's happened here in the last few weeks."
David Redford-Crowe is a member of the forum and has lived
in the quarter for over 20 years. He said: “It’s truly shocking, what’s
happened here in the last few weeks.”
He states he is tired of hearing that “Manchester is not a
heritage city” and believes that the city’s strengths lie in its ability to
preserve what it has but “political will” is the main problem facing it today.
Mr Redford-Crowe believes that “by coming under this big
umbrella of [Northern Quarter Forum] we have much more of a voice, and a much
louder voice, and people are starting to listen to us”.
Northern Quarter Forum have supported a motion by Piccadilly Labour ward
councillor Adele Douglas which aims to protect the area’s heritage by looking after buildings that are important to the city's history but aren't necessarily listed. But the forum ultimately feel that the ward councillors are not the main decision makers and they still place the blame for the issues squarely on the city council's shoulders for not using the powers available to them.
When approached for comment Ms Douglas said: “Manchester has
some of the richest cultural heritage of any city in the UK and I am pleased to
be able to use my role as a Councillor (sic) to protect this.”
She also said that she feels “incredibly privileged to have
been able to speak in council on a topic so important to [her]”.
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| Salboy begins to demolish Back Turner St warehouse |
The Lib Dem opposition are also backing the motion which
they originally proposed but say it comes too late for some the Northern Quarter’s
historic buildings.
The Northern Quarter Post spoke to Joe Lynch from the Piccadilly
Lib Dem campaign group who said: “The council hasn’t used the powers available
to it to preserve any historic building in the Northern Quarter.” He also noted
that the new high-rise flats make locals “feel excluded” and provide no
affordable housing.
When asked what a Lib Dem ward council would do differently
Mr Lynch said they would impose a minimum of 20% affordable housing in all new
developments and would use the powers available to them to preserve historic
buildings as well as applying for “Listed Status” for buildings such as
Affleck’s Palace.
Manchester City Council has been contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
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