Canal27ways

Author: Mike Cordingley

  • Stretford Masterplan Refresh

    Stretford Masterplan Refresh

    The refreshed Stretford Masterplan has been published. Essentially, it’s still capitalising on the anticipated influx of students arising from UA92 and the provision of living accommodation and student facilities in Stretford Town Centre. However, the amount of living accommodation on the Lacy Street site is significantly reduced alongside reduced ambition on the canalside.

    Aims of Masterplan

    The delivery of the UA92 proposed development will form the centrepiece of the refreshed Masterplan to transform Stretford, bring significant additional activity and expenditure to the Town Centre, support the evening economy, provide additional direct and indirect job opportunities, bring vacant buildings back into use, accelerate the delivery of other sites and act as catalyst for further investment.

    Essoldo


    The Masterplan imagines opportunities to bring The Essoldo back into use. Since I’m struggling to remember any previous declaration of positive intent towards the Essoldo prior to the first draft, this aspect still has to be welcomed.

    The interdependence with new student/residential development on Lacy Street is still apparent and if that residential component is reduced (which seems to the way we’re heading), getting the Essoldo back in use might be more difficult.

    The former Essoldo building itself would provide opportunities for the provision of student amenities and other uses accessible to the whole community, including the potential for a relocated and significantly enhanced library facility.

    A new pedestrian link would be provided through to the canal opening up access to this important asset.

    Edge Lane

    There’s less mention of Edge Lane than in the first draft. It’s still in the plan and the key task remains:

    Securing the reuse of the Essoldo building and vacant units along Edge Lane

    Lacy Street

    This has always been where the Masterplan gets contentious. At one point there was a proposal that the University itself would be developed here before the Kellogg site came into play.

    I was never convinced that having a university in the centre itself had as much regenerative potential as suggested by a certain local councillor colleague.

    Then we had the proposal below from the first draft that many considered overdevelopment.


    There are definitely question marks as to the financing of this scheme and the viability of the council’s development partners. I don’t think it’s entirely down to a public backlash that the scheme is reduced.

    The revised masterplan abandons the ambition for dense accommodation here and says of Lacy Street;

    The Council will undertake further masterplanning work to develop more detailed development proposals for the site in early 2018. This will comprise a significantly lower and less dense scheme than that considered during the public consultation and will incorporate the provision of affordable/key worker housing, alongside some student accommodation and retail/food and drink uses at the ground floor level.

    So, all we can say is reduced density and perhaps this area is less of a focus of in the rejuvenated Stretford.

    The Mall

    Development at this site should be outward facing and make best used of the opportunities to improve the public realm around the Mall and support the delivery of a wider mix of town centre uses. In the longer term, subject to private investment, there are opportunities to ‘open up’ or redevelop other areas of the Mall, such as King Street or Arndale House

    The Mall is clearly continuing to be a problem.

    Leisure Facilities

    I did feed back in the consultation that I felt the town centre could sustain a sports/leisure centre in addition to the one going in at the UA92 campus. I still believe that.

    Similarly, Stretford and Old Trafford’s medical provision is in need of renewal. We haven’t replaced Bennett Street and I think there are opportunities to create something exciting combining both health and fitness in one location in Stretford.

    All-Weather pitches are still proposed on Turn Moss and I’m broadly in favour, although I hear the outcry.

    My Verdict

    Lacy Street needed to be tall (5-12 storeys). It needed to be dense.

    Many will welcome the reduced residential density of Lacy Street. I regret the reduction. My sense is that dedicated student accommodation probably was overprovided for, but that doesn’t mean tall residential isn’t the right choice here. The transport links are very good. It’s exactly the right place to build up density.
    Without that density, I worry about the ambitions for the Essoldo, regeneration of Edge Lane and the retail/leisure element within Lacy Street.

    Canalside

    I am also very disappointed with the specific Stretford Masterplan proposals for the canalside. I feel that in sacrificing the opportunity to develop the canalside into an attractive recreational setting, we’re undermining the economic stimulus provided by any influx of students.

    Stretford has excellent transport connections to Manchester and elsewhere. It has hundreds of passengers alighting at the Stretford Metrolink stop everyday, emerging onto the bridge over the canal. Having a picturesque canal is usually by default an economic blessing in any regeneration. Think of Camden Lock, think of Birmingham, even Sale. Stretford’s residents have been telling us what they value in the village centre. I felt we were on the cusp of something really worthwhile.

    The canalside has always been cited as a focal point of Stretford’s revival. It would be great to see that dream be realised. It’s a generational opportunity.

    This does not preclude student accommodation in Stretford, nor indeed on Lacy Street. Getting right a cafe/restaurant/village shopping quarter on the canalside, at ground level, makes adding the student accommodation to enhance the scheme so much easier rather than the other way round; and creates a symbiosis between the two. It’s our one chance to give purpose to the Essoldo and I think we’re bottling it.


  • UA92 – Consultation on the University Campus

    UA92 – Consultation on the University Campus

    I went to the consultation event at Old Trafford.

    Gary Neville was there alongside Prof Sharon Huttly from Lancaster Uni and Theresa Grant from Trafford.

    In terms of what I learned; Gary Neville has a genuine belief that there’s space in the market for a different ethos of higher education. He’s sincere. I don’t think I’d appreciated how sincere. Doesn’t mean he’s not going to make some money, but his drive seems to me to be coming from a place that plenty of kids miss out on higher education because conventionally, the emphasis has been on a different approach. I think I actually share that belief and possibly for a long time; perhaps it’s because I wasn’t attracted to go to university myself.

    Gary Neville’s belief seems to stem both from his time in the united youth set-up and equally from being with the academy players at Salford City. There’s an emphasis on hard work, not necessarily on prior qualifications. Lancaster seem fully on board, but will want to ensure that the degrees offer a genuinely marketable asset for their graduates. UA92 is going to be marketed globally but with an expectation of 2/3 UK based 1/3 students.

    Salford City

    The Salford City side of this is more than I’d appreciated, with them having use of academy pitches down on Turn Moss between Stretford and Chorlton as well as part of the educational throughput.

    I genuinely want this project to do well. I really hope he’s right that there is a place in the market. It does feel at this stage that the narrative is too blokey, but they’ve got time to sort that.

    He is going to face some cynicism from vested interests in academia, but it’s a credit to Lancaster that they’ve got on board. Especially given that they’ve just been awarded ‘University of the Year’ (and could have just basked in the glow from that), their presence gives this project real credibility. Bottom line is if it means that more northern working class kids get a chance of better life chances then as a Labour man I’ve got to support this.

    Gary and Sharon gave the appearance that they were ready for some community negativity and some forensic questioning. Nevertheless, it was disheartening that the very first intervention was in fact “Do you know how much Stretford is against this project?”. There’s definitely opposition to some aspects of the town centre masterplan, I totally object myself to any loss of trees or greenspace close to St Ann’s church. We’ll have to work through those details and others, but I need to be clear; I welcome UA92 to our area.

    I believe it is an incredibly exciting project and I genuinely want it to be a success.

    We’ll learn more in the new year when they’ll be closer to releasing their prospectus, but there’s a real opportunity for Trafford schools, Colleges and businesses to part of something truly remarkable.

  • UA92 Consultation 2nd November 2017

    UA92 Consultation 2nd November 2017

    My recollections of the discussions on one table about the Stretford Masterplan at Stretford public hall tonight.

    Our first topic on the table was active leisure.

    Worries over access for dog walking on turn moss. Flooding too and car parking.
    Access to pools and facilities at the new sports centre, competing with students.

    Overall disappointed that active life was not embedded into the masterplan. We’ve got the new sports centre and Turn Moss is getting new drainage; but there’s potential to build activity into every theme. There’s room for a new cycling & walking route alongside the metrolink where the old siding used to be between Stretford and the university site – where’s the imagination?

    Outdoor gyms in our parks? – why not be ambitious and give us back a town centre swimming pool in the student village?

    We could be much cleverer over the active offer.

    Next issue was the Essoldo.

    Some really good suggestions from the residents, for example rebalancing the closure of the Cornerhouse in Manchester with the Essoldo taking on a similar cultural role. Lots of worries and defensiveness against it being a Students Union. The council is not trusted. They are not believed when officers say it’s a genuine consultation and they don’t have a definite operation lined up for it. I do actually believe them over this particular issue, but I find it hard to blame residents for the mistrust.

    A56 corridor next

    …negative comparisons with Salford’s Chapel Street and Crescent where the city council has created a genuine public realm and brought the traffic speed down to a more civilised 20mph and effective safe crossing points throughout. Salford managed to avoid the Edge Lane public realm disaster by being a genuine attempt to create a living space for people and being less in thrall to the car driver.

    Less discussion about the green spaces on the A56 particularly around St Ann’s church because we were so unanimously opposed to losing either the spaces or the mature trees there.

    Finally the Lacy Street Students village.

    A lot of support for smaller scale and dissipation of student accommodation on other sites – B&Q as well as Itron. I was in a minority on this particular issue. I genuinely believe it has to be of scale in Stretford if it’s to deliver a sufficient boost to Stretford to provide any of the retail or indeed the night time offer we’ve been craving. Personally I don’t think we’re demanding enough in terms of design or facilities – I genuinely believe we should be asking the earth in terms of facilities in the town centre itself and that a swimming pool is not unreasonable. Altrincham will have one and anyway if you don’t ask, you don’t get. We should be asking for a lot more.

    I think my table judged the benefits of the large student campus as vague and uncertain and would rather not take the risk at that scale. I also don’t think we were yet convinced that the university would be successful as described when other universities were contracting. If that view is right, and it certainly has to be a possibility, then what is the contingency? None of the plans so far for the student accommodation show any sign of architectural merit and converting them to residential living is not easy. Just because it’s student accommodation should not mean it’s an ugly design. My instinct is that Trafford is not sufficiently demanding when it comes to attractive street design. Gary Neville in my view really commissioned an excellent design for Hotel Football, given the unpromising plot of land that it was built on. I want him to maintain that level of design in everything associated with this project and we need to see an improvement on what we’ve been shown so far.

    This are not official minutes but a personal impression of the discussions that went on my table.

  • Should we care about insects?

    Should we care about insects?

    It hardly made the news. Relegated to sixth item on Thursday’s 6am BBC news, not even mentioned on the preceding ‘Farming Today’. If it wasn’t for the Guardian putting it onto their frontpage, maybe the BBC wouldn’t have mentioned it at all.

    The news that German Scientists had revealed a 75% reduction in flying insects since the 80s was greeted essentially with a shrug.

    I’m no scientist, but I do know we need insects, that a 75% reduction is beyond serious; and that the most likely culprit is man. It therefore follows that we need to do something about it, …but probably won’t.

    The EU has been struggling to comprehensively ban neonicotinoids against an alliance of Tory MEPs, German industrial giants – Bayer (largest manufacturers of neonicotinoids) and the industrial farming lobby.

    I’m proud that the Labour Party manifesto committed a future Labour Government to ban these filthy neonicotinoids. We need to go further though.

    Buglife, the conservation organisation committed to invertebrates, put together its own manifesto in 2014 and it still looks credible today.

    We do need a comprehensive strategy though and quick. I think the direction will have to come from the EU. The UK’s Tory Government is in a state of collective psychosis and the US has Donald Trump. Insects really matter.

    Photo by Oktavianus Mulyadi:

    Pexels: horsefly-on-a-pink-violet-flower-petals-14583889/

  • Understanding University Academy 92 – The Campus

    Understanding University Academy 92 – The Campus

    Gary Neville’s University plans at core of a revised Stretford Masterplan

    What are the plans, what are the risks?

    The University itself

    Big launch, lots of photo-opportunities, noisy videos, but what do we really know of the plans?

    ..and what is the UA92 vision actually about?

    Universities have traditionally placed academic learning at the core of the curriculum, supported by character development for the world of work. By comparison, UA92 will deliver a curriculum with employability and character development at the core wrapped around by academic development.

    There’s lots of talk of character and striving and success and goals, but beyond buzz words we still know very little about the university itself. We know that Lancaster University (University of the Year 2017!) are backing the project and they intend to give more information in the new year about the curriculum.

    There could be up to 7000 students enrolled ultimately at the campus, but there’s also a lot of talk of paid placements. It would be helpful to understand the nature of these placements, whether they’re local placements or whether they’re global; and the interaction with the University whilst on those placements.

    Not really a planning consideration, but in terms of understanding the economic regeneration and sustainability of all this, I want to get a better idea of how many students will need to be housed locally, where they’re from, and what their spending power is.

    There will be opportunities for local businesses, for voluntary sector, for existing educational institutions. I really want to learn more.

    The Talbot Road Campus itself

    Trafford Council have already purchased the site. Currently, it’s the Kelloggs HQ but Kelloggs are moving to Media City. It’s a big and valuable site. My understanding is that Trafford will be the landlords and are already committed to refurbishing the building. There’ll be a new sports centre/swimming pool built on site (top right of map) to replace Stretford Sports Centre.

    This sports centre probably deserves its own article; users are understandably worried about provision at the new centre, will it be more difficult to book a court? Will the university be making block bookings and residents picking up what’s left? It is some reassurance that Trafford Leisure will be operating the centre, but I want to be certain that this will meet the community’s need. I’m trying to get a consultation event organised at Stretford Sports Centre dedicated to the transfer of sports provision to the new site.

    My Questions

    • What is Trafford Council’s exposure to risk on the refurbishment of the Kelloggs building?
    • As landlord of the Kelloggs building, what is our exposure to ongoing financial committment?
    • What happens if the University fails? Implications for Trafford Council and Leisure Trust?
    • How does the proposed hotel and 150 apartments proposed for the UA92 campus site fit in with the university – are these serious proposals or just something marking time until further announcements
    • The new Stretford Masterplan identifies 84 Talbot Road for development but no other sites beyond the K site, why is this when there seems a number of sites further down Talbot Road ripe for development including the old bowling green etc?
    • What guarantees have residents that the new sport centre will be able to cope with the increased demand generated by improved and new facilities as well as the increased student population on site?
    • How will the Leisure Trust consult users about what needs to go in the new centre?
    • University Campuses are usually 24hr operations – to what extent will this apply at UA92?
    • What arrangements are being considered for cycling and walking routes from Stretford to the campus?
    • Gorse Hill already suffers notable neglect from some private landlords, will you now introduce a landlord licensing scheme, such as has proved so successful in Newham and other boroughs?
    • What’s the intention for the current sports centre site?
  • A light shines on Private Landlords and their Tax Dodges (sadly in London!)

    A light shines on Private Landlords and their Tax Dodges (sadly in London!)

    Up to 13,000 landlords in one east London borough have failed to declare their rental income to the Government, the local council has found.

    Local Gov News 14th August 2017

    We only know this because Newham has a compulsory landlord registration scheme. In Trafford there is no landlord registration scheme. We don’t know who they are and there is no desire from the Tories to do anything about it.

    We already suffer enough blights from the private landlords and their lack of care. The fact that it seems likely there’s as little attention to their tax affairs as there is to the neighbourhoods in which they operate is another reason we need a Labour council to get on top of this.

    “Pay Your Taxes – Hold Your Head High” by Andrew Sorensen, CC BY-NC 2.0