alexandra park, manchester, uk -‐ restoration plan concerns

7/30/2019 Alexandra Park, Manchester, UK - Restoration Plan Concerns

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Presentatmee*ng(whichwasinvita*ononlyatrequestofManchesterCityCouncil):

RionneAvis,NadineAndrews,JennyTrigg-localresidents

RichardSharland,ManchesterCityCouncil

EamonnORourke,ManchesterCityCouncil

EddieFlanagan,ManchesterCityCouncil

EuniceLong,ManchesterCityCouncil

SaraHilton,HeadofHeritageLoeryFundNW

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Thethreeofusheretodayaresomeofthepeoplewhohaveconcerns.Another10

localpeoplehavecontributedtodevelopingthispresenta*on,inclprofessional

arboriculturalistandanecologist.

Manypeopleques*onedthera*onaleforwildlifehabitatdestruc*oninour

community,sincefirstfindingoutthescaleofdestruc*onattheOpenDayinMarch

2011,andhaveneverreceivedaproperresponse.

Todateover1600havesignedthee-pe**on

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Weobjecttotheunnecessarydestruc*onofwildlifehabitatsthatwillhappenaspart

oftheseplans,thatwillonlypar*allybecompensatedfor.Onceamaturehabitatis

destroyed,ittakesdecadesfornewplan*ngtoreachthatsamestageofsuppor*ngdiversewildlife.

InacontextwheretheUKissufferinglossofspeciesatarateneverexperienced

beforeinhistory.Scien*stsagreewe'reexperiencingthe6thmajorex*nc*onof

species-youhavetogoback65myearsforthelastone,whenthedinosaurs

disappeared.WearetodaylosingHouseSparrowsatanaverageof50perHOUR.

Theyareontheredlistforconserva*on.AndwehaveHouseSparrowsinthepark-

weshouldbeproudofthatandseekingtoprotectandsupportthatpopula*onto

grow.NotputthemandmanyotherprotectedandBAPspeciesunderthreatby

destroyingtheirhabitat.

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Firecrestsigh*ngsinpastweekhavetwitchersgengveryexcited(Firecreston

Amberlistforconserva*on).OneguycameallthewayfromDurham.

Alexparkisanecotourismdes*na*on!

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Safeguardingournaturalheritageisextremelyimportant,asHLFrecognise,especially

inahighlyurbanenvironment

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MCCsurveyshowsimportanceofnaturetolocalpeople-theywantmorenature,

notless.The1600+peoplewhosignede-pe**onagree.

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Thecouncilalsohaslegaldutytoconservebiodiversity[7]NERCAct2006Yetunder

theseplans,biodiversityisonlypar*allycompensatedfor.Itshouldbefully

compensatedfor-indeedfurtherenhanced.

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ThattheparkisalocalBAPhabitatsuppor*ngBAPspecies-thesefeatureswere

iden*fiedasconstraintsbytheconsultantecologistsemployedbyMCCyetthese

constraintsdon'tappeartohavebeentakenseriously.SowhydidMCCselect'no'tothisques*oninthePlanningApplica*on?

Clearlackofintegra*onofbiodiversityintoprojectfromoutsetledtoGMEUrequest

toPlanningtoincludecondi*onforBiodiversityMasterPlantobesubmiedpriorto

commencementofworks.Notreefellingshouldoccurun*lthisBiodiversityMaster

PlanhasbeenapprovedbyGMEU.

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GMisamongstleastwoodedcoun*esinEngland(7.7%comparedto10%na*onal

average)accordingtoWoodlandTrust.

MCCGreenCitytargetfor10%moretreesperdevelopment.Currentplansfor

renova*onaredecreasingnotincreasingcover(approx-30%+takingintoaccount

poten*allossthroughhighthreatdiseasesandtreesclassedasvegeta*onclassed)

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NotjustonGreenCitytargets,theplansarecontrarytootherMCCpolicytoo,andon

GreenInfrastructurepolicy,whichwe'llreturntolater.

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FRAMINGWIDERCONTEXT

Alreadytalkedaboutbiodiversityloss.

Psychology

Nownotonlyaretheplansverybadnewsfortheprotectedandpriorityspeciesthat

liveinthepark,psychologicalresearchprovesthatlossofnatureisbadforustoo-for

ourhealthandSWB.

Peoplehavenotjustabiologicalbutalsoapsychologicalbondwithnature.

Psychologistsareprovingthroughempiricalresearchthatwhathappenstonature

affectsusonadeeppsychologicallevel,whetherweareconsciouslyawareofitor

not.Peoplewhofeelalienatedfromnaturesuffergreatermentalill-healthandhavea

significantlylowerSWB.Withregardtochildren,thereareevenaemptsto

medicalisethisaliena*onas'naturedeficitsyndrome'.

Awarethatsomepar*eshavecharacterisedpeoplewho'veraisedconcernsas

irra*onalandextreme,astree-huggers.Cungtreesisanemo*veissue.Ofcourseit

is,Itsthehumancondi*ontobeemo*onallybondedtonature,andthereis

somethingspecialabouttrees-theyaretheonlyotherlifeforminthecitythatlives

longerthanwedo.Oncea100yrold,200yroldtreeisfelled,thatisit-itsgone

forever.

Dismissingpeople'sconcernsbecauseoftheemo*ontheyfeelisnotonly

disrespeculitsalsomisguided.Apassionforprotec*ngandencouragingwildlifeandbiodiversityintheparkshouldberecognisedforwhatitis:apsychologicallyhealthy

humanresponse.Itsactuallythepeoplewhodon'tcareaboutnatureandare

alienatedfromitthathaveamaladap*veresponse.Youcanseejusthowimportant

natureistopeoplebyreadingthecommentsonthee-pe**on.

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OurvisionforAlexParkisforittobeaninterna*onalexemplarof21stcurbanpark

design-meaningthedesignisusercentred(userisbothhumanandnonhuman),

ecologicalanddemocra*cinbothprocessandproduct,thatenablespeopletoconnectwitheachotherandwithnature

Victoriandesign

Dominantthemeisorderandcontrol:controlofnature,controlofpeopleas

expressedtheoriginalstatedinten*onoftheparkto"promoteasimplemorale

purpose-tokeepfamiliestogetherinsharedrecrea6on.Thereality,however,was

probablymoremundane-todissuademenfromspendingtheirdayofrestin

alehouses."[hp://www.manchester2002-uk.com]

AlexandraParkwasbuilt(1870)inasocio-economiccontextofrapidlyexpanding

industrialgrowthandimperialpower.Thesevaluesarereflectedinthedesignoftheperiod.Roman*cismwasover,theArts

&CrasMovementjustabouttostart.Theydidn'thaveanunderstandingofecology

inthewaywedonow,abouttherela*onshipbetweenthepartsofasystem,how

theyimpacteachotherandthesystemasawhole.

Wearefacinganecologicalcrisisofamagnitudethatcouldnothavebeenimagined

inVictorian*mes.Simpleinconceivable.ThereforesomeaspectsofVictoriandesign

simplyarenotfirforpurposein21stcentury.

21stcenturyurbanparkdesignInfluencedbycomplexitytheory-acceptcan'tcontrolnature.Itsaboutworkingwith

nature.

Thisisexactlythekindofprogressiveinnova*vethinkingforwhichmcrlikestothink

isitssignature-originalmodern.

Foraprojectwithmillionsofpoundsonthetable,that'swhatthisshould'vebeen.

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Talkingofdemocra*cdesign,whatlegalandmoralrightsdowehaveasci*zens,local

residents,counciltaxpayersandparkuserstobeinvolvedindecision-making

process,andhaveinfluenceoverthingsthataffecttheirlives?Itsourpublicpark,welivehereandweuseit.

MCCstatedaimtoimprovepar*cipatorydemocracy.

Don'tknowwhatdic*onaryyouuse,butyourdefini*onofconsulta*onisn'tonethat

wouldbeacceptedinaJudicialReview.

Legalprecedence:ifyou'regoingtodoconsulta*onthenitmustbeproper.Which

means,whenprojectinforma*vestage(i.e.priortoOct2010whenplansproduced),

mustgivesufficientinforma*on(accesstoallrelevantdocuments,understandable-

useofkeys,reasonsfordecisions)andhavefairprocess.

Wehavebeeninformedbylegalexpertsthatwehavestronggroundsforreques*nga

judicialreview[putupflipchartsheet]

dueto

-breachofstatutorydutytoconsultmembersofthepublic(publiclaw)

-ignoringrelevantconsidera*ons(climatechange,biodiversity,PlanningPolicy

Statement)

-unfairnessintheprocess

-legi*mateexpecta*ons(wildlifepanelthatnevermaterialised)

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MCCwebsitepagesforAlexParkrenova*ondonotincludeimportantdocuments

suchas115_E_SolandscapeRemovalandRemedia*onshowingallthetreesdueto

beremovedandshrubareastobecleared.Nolinktoportalwith81documents.

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Listofconsulta*on-butall'consulta*on'aerOct2010whenplanswereproduced

couldbeargueddoesntcountasproperconsulta*on,asisnotwhilstprojectwasin

forma*vestage(intermsoflegalprecedencedefini*onofconsulta*oninjudicialreview).

Weknowfromourownexperiencethatsufficientinforma*onhasnotgiven.

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Thesecommentsshowthatpeoplearenotawareofthedetailoftheplans

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Thisiswhatourexperiencehasbeenlike..!

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WhatIandmanyothersreallywantisatotalrethinkoftheen*reproject,fromthe

perspec*veofuser-centredecologicalanddemocra*cdesign.

Butitseemsthatatotalrethinkoftheen*reprojectmaynotbepossible.Thisisarealshame,amassivemissedopportunityforcrea*ngatrulyexci*ngdesignof

interna*onalstandard.

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Ifthisisindeedthesitua*on,thenwewouldhavetoreluctantlyreduceourvision,

shrinkouraspira*ons.Therestofthepresenta*onwe'llmakeheretodayisfromthat

compromiseposi*on.Ifwecan'thaveatotalrethinkthenwhatwe'rereques*ngisthatthecurrentplansaremodifiedsothatonlyabsolutelynecessarytreefellingis

undertaken,(egforthesakeofimprovingbiodiversityofhabitat)tonotonlyfully

compensateforbutfurtherenhancebiodiversity.Thisisabsolutelyachievable,it

doesn'thavetocostmore,allittakesisthewilltodoit.Inanycaseinaddi*ontoHLF

therearevariousfundingpotsspecificallyforimprovingbiodiversityinpublicspaces.

Butletmemakeitabsolutelyclear-atotalrethinkisourpreference,andifthere'sa

wayforustoachievethat,whetherthroughajudicialreviewand/orothermeans-

wewillpursueit.

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RemembertoothatMcrhasaproudhistoryofradicalsocialprotest-an*-cornlaw

league,radicalsandchar*stsoftheReformmovement,suffragees,RSPB,Kinder

masstrespassetc.notforgengWRownrecentcontribu*ontothatlineage,thesuccessfulac*ontostopthecouncilfellingstreettrees,whichreceivedsomuchpress

aen*on.

OurMPGeraldKaufmanisfollowingthesitua*onclosely.Hewasn'tawareofthe

plansun*lweinformedhimlastweek.Hetoldushehasstartedaskingques*ons.

We'retoupdatehimaboutthismee*ng.

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Alexparkwasamossland,alowlandraisedbog.

Fellinghundredsoftreesandclearingshrubwillonlymakethefloodingsitua*onmuchworse

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Areasofmapduetobeclearednotshowingtreessituatedthere.Allyouhavetodois

walkaroundandseehowmanytreesthereareinthoseareasthathavenotbeen

includedinthe258number(or262theplansareinconsistentretreefellingnumbers)

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Thisisexactlytheareaoftheparkwherenaturetrailswouldbe

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ReminderofMCCvisitorsurvey

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AlsocourtsatMossSideLeisureCentre

Fewercourts-wouldsavesignificantnumberoftreesinclBlackPoplarifonlyputin2toreplaceexis*ngones,withpossibilitytoextendto4ifdemand.

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Previoustenniscourtsnotmaintained,sonotused.

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MCCsurvey42%wantimprovementstolakearea

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TreeHazardEvalua*ondocumentisadamningcri*queofthetreesurveyconducted

byMCC

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Wewereverysurprisedtoreadthis,shocking.

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-Notallthatwillbeclearedaspartof'vegeta*onclearance'arecountedwithin258

number(wecountedanother84inDshapealone).Manymoreinshadedareasin

plansdueforclearance,notevenshownastrees.-NotincludednumberofOakandHorseChestnutalreadydiseased,futuredisease

includingAsh.

-Wees*mateovernext10yearsupto432treescouldbefelled.

ForestryCommissionadvice:Nomorethan5m3*mber/quarteryear,with

exemp*ons;largeno.ofAshtreeremovals(59/151=33%);shouldhavesoughtFC

adviceondiseaseandhygiene

WhydidMCC*cknoforProtectedandPrioritySpeciesinPlanningApplica*on

Sec*on13?

Expecta*onthatWildlifePanelwouldbesetupthatIandotherssuchasGMEcology

Unitwouldbepartoftoinputintodesignthisnevermaterialised

FriendsofAlexandraParkmee*ng27/11/12mee*ng-given3schemesalready

designedbylandscapearchitectforFoAPtochooseone

WantassurancethattreefellingwillnottakeplacebeforeBiodiversityMasterPlan

hasbeenapproved.WewanttoseecopyofPlan

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alexandra park, manchester, uk -‐ restoration plan concerns

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