There are a huge amount of football facilities available within the south manchester / chorlton area. Turn Moss in particular seems under used. There must be at least 15 football pitches there, with an existing infrastucture of road, and changing facilities. I run through those fields on a regular basis. They are always mowed, and I have never seen a game taking place. There are also pitches on the old cricket ground on Hardy Lane, and at Jacksons boat. On top of that we have an abundance of other pitches in South Manchester
Is there really any need for MORE pitches?
Click here to see a google map of the location of South Manchester pitches.
I would much rather have a naturally developing, managed collection of habitats than football pitches but I feel sure something should be established as soon as possible:
What exactly is the legal position? I think some part of the proposed site was used for sports purpose by MMU when it was Manchester Polytechnic. Does this suggest that who ever owns the site might have a simple right to deveopl the site or at least part of it for sports purposes?
The land was owned by UMIST until very recently, and yes there was some usage as a sports field in the past. You can read a history of the area here on Friends of Chorlton Meadows. Scroll down tha page a bit, and you’ll find information about the protest that took place in 1990. Its really the scale of the development that we object to. Floodlights, fencing, and all weather pitches linked to a members club house hardy sounds like amateur football to me. There are also a large amount of football pitches already in South Manchester (Map here). I’m sure planning permission will be required for the match pitch, and the all weather pitch, as these two require floodlights and fencing. The all weather pitch is also the money making element, as it will be rented out to bring in revenue. We’re hoping that if enough people object, both to the council, and to local councillors, that permission will be denied. SO PLEASE WRITE TO THEM!