Imagine this as a 10 acre park.... You can still help! How? By sending a few emails:
Write!
Write to your councillor
Write to the leader of Manchester City Council (Bev Craig cllr.bev.craig@manchester.gov.uk)
Write to your MP (Lucy Powell: contact@lucypowell.org.uk)
You can find your local Manchester City councillor here:
Suggested email:
To <name of recipient>,
As a local <resident/worker/parent>, <I/we> need substantial green space and trees on the former Central Retail Park on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester city centre for the following reasons:
Reduce the amount of dangerous pollution in the city, especially from Great Ancoats Street
Provide safe space for exercise.
Provide a barrier between the road and the school
Provide green space and nature to improve mental health.
Space for children to play safely, whether that’s riding bikes or kicking a ball.
The above will also decrease the demand on local NHS services as the health of local residents improves (as cited by one of the GP's from the surgery just behind the site).
<I/We> also ask that better public transport and cycle/walking routes are put in place to help people coming to the city travel in a way other than by car, to reduce pollution in the area. Especially asking you to consider those travelling from North and East Manchester. Real research will be needed to help with this to understand why people don’t use it at the moment. Be it cost, times that buses run, lacking routes, time or how dangerous cycling is.
Most of all, what <I/we> would like to see is the council engaging with locals, as well as visitors and workers in the area, to understand their needs.
<I/We> look forward to your response on your actions towards remedying the above concerns.
Many thanks
<your name>
<your address - so the recipient knows you are part of their constituency>