Tuesday 18 October 2016

Bowes Street Planning Application, suggested comments

A subgroup of residents met recently to discuss the plans and to raise some ideas for comments that could be made on the application, you may want to consider these when making your own comments.
You could also discuss these with the representatives tomorrow at the meeting

Brief Summary of Discussion and Actions


At the time of the meeting we were unaware that the council would arrange a consultation event (now scheduled for Wednesday, 19 October 2016 at Bowes St Community Allotment from 2 pm to 6 pm)

Michael Coates, who has some experience of the planning process, advised that the developers would have to respond to each and every issue raised by the local residents. It was therefore felt that rather than concentrating on one or two key issues, we should all write to the council about the issues important to us.

In order to aid this process it was agreed that the following list of potential issues should be circulated to the group:

  • Reducing the density
      • Our rough estimate has a density of 41,000 people per sq mile for the new development compared with 25,000 in Moss Side currently
      • We estimate up to 500 new residents with around 100 of these being children
  • Tenure
      • There were concerns that the mix of mostly private ownership would attract mainly private landlords
      • This could lead to a transient population, particularly in the flats, which could have negative effects on the established local community
      • It was suggested that restrictions could be placed on the purchases, similar to those imposed on the purchasers of the new Infusion Homes properties.
  • Saving the trees on Broadfield Road
      • The trees here are healthy and it does not appear from the plans that their removal is necessary
  • Creating more green/ communal space
      • The plans have no green spaces or communal areas
      • Concerns were raised about the number of children (estimated over 100) with no play areas
      • Linked to this were concerns about water run off and a request for permeable paving was made
  • School Spaces
      • With a large number of new children (estimated over 100) the impact on primary and secondary schools in the area is a concern
  • Concerns about usage of ‘café space’
      • The plans include 370m squared of café/ restaurant space.
      • Concerns were raised over the nature of the businesses. There were strong feelings against more fast food establishments and large chains
  • Traffic Calming
      • There are no measures proposed to calm traffic on Broadfield road
      • The measures proposed for Bowes Street (2 points where the road narrows) will not be effective when there is no oncoming traffic.
      • Traffic crossings on Bowes St were also suggested
  • Parking
      • There are no provisions for the people currently living on Bowes Street and parking their cars there
      • It was felt the 177 spaces would not be adequate
  • Workshop/ Community Space
      • A request was made for community/ workshop space- there seems to be little though as to how the new community will integrate with the old- this could be one way.
  • Policing
      • There were concerns about how the current policing provision would cope with this new influx of people
  • Refuse/ Pest Control/ Litter
      • There were concerns about how the current provision would cope with this new influx of people
  •  

Individuals are now encouraged to put concerns in their own words and copy the group (on the mailing list email) in so that we can share thoughts, ideas and even copy text where appropriate.


Comments should be made in writing to:

Julie Roscoe, Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing
Stagecoach Development: Level 6 Town Hall Extension, PO Box 532, Manchester M60 2LA.

Include the Application number: 113982/FO/2016




Bowes Street Planning Application - your comments

In addition to the meeting tomorrow 2-6PM at the Allotment, comments should be made in writing to 
Julie Roscoe, Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing
Stagecoach development:  Level 6 Town Hall Extension PO Box 532 Manchester M60 2LA.
Application number: 113982/FO/2016

The deadline was initially the 21st October, but this has been extended until the 31st October.

The plans can be found at 
(Click view planning applications, then enter Bowes Street as a search term) 

The relevant plan is 

There are a lot of documents! 
Some that may be more accessible to non-experts (showing images of the proposed development) are 

However, the Supplementary Information documents will also contain relevant information

Please be aware that your comments should be in line with the guidelines, and must be "relevant to planning" - see the notes (scanned from the City Council letter)







Planning Application Public Consultation, 19th OCT - VENUE CHANGE





Central Neighbourhood Team
Level 1, Active Lifestyles Centre
Denmark Road
Moss Side
M15 6FG

T: 0161 234 4000


Sub: Stagecoach Development - Public Consultation Event

Dear resident,

This letter is to invite you to the Stagecoach Consultation event on Wednesday 19th October 2016 between 2pm – 6pm at Moss side Community Allotment, Bowes Street, M14 4UW.

This event will include information and images of the outline proposal. It will be staffed by Manchester City Council representatives and Rowlinsons design and Construction team who can respond to any questions you may have on this exciting new development. Your support would be welcome, and we hope you can join us.

This consultation event is in addition to the statutory consultation process. 

Information regarding this planning application can be viewed and commented on via the City Council’s website at www.manchester.gov.uk/planning/publicaccess. Alternatively, details of the planning application can be viewed online at any library during opening hours.

If you are unable to attend this event, you can still make comments in writing by       31 October 2016 and post the same to the address below:
Stagecoach development:  Level 6 Town Hall Extension PO Box 532 Manchester M60 2LA.

There are notes on the back of this letter that may help you decide what you want to say and a guide is available on our website at www.manchester.gov.uk/planning. All replies are carefully considered.


Yours Sincerely
Central Neighbourhood Team



Who can comment on planning applications?
Anyone, but comments must be made in writing. Anonymous comments are not accepted.
Who is notified?
As a general rule those immediately adjacent to the development. We usually send out individual letters (like this one)
although sometimes, notices are also put up near the site or in newspapers.
Who looks at my response?
The officer dealing with the planning application and other planning staff. Remember, anyone, including the person
applying for planning permission, is entitled to read your letter. If the application is to be decided by a Committee
(elected members of the City Council), your views and others will be summarised in a written report, available for
public inspection a few days before the Committee meets.
Will my views make any difference to the decision?
They might – the Council has a legal duty to consider the views of the public but your views must be relevant to
planning.
How do I know what’s “relevant to planning”?
Planning is mainly concerned with the physical aspects of the way land and buildings are used. Issues such as levels
of activity, appearance, parking, noise, traffic or overlooking are relevant. Examples of issues which are not relevant
include: effect on property values or fears of commercial competition. If it wants to refuse planning permission, the
Council has to be able to show that some harm will result. The guide on the website provides more information about
this.
Can I get more advice?
Yes, just contact the planning officer named in this letter about how to have your views properly considered.
Can I appeal if I don’t like the decision?
No. Only the person who makes the application can appeal (to the Secretary of State).
Can I complain if I don’t like the way I’ve been treated?
Yes. The Council has a leaflet about how to complain and details are available online at
www.manchester.gov.uk/complaints. We always aim to deal with complaints quickly.


Thursday 14 July 2016

Reporting Speeding and Anti-Social Behaviour

We have been encouraged to report speeding to the Police, on 101, especially along Bowes Street, as a larger record of incidents can give a better picture of the issue and could result in a changes in the area to make it safer for everyone.

Anti-social behaviour should also be reported to the Police, on 101 in most cases, but call 999 if there is violence or a danger to life, or if a crime is in progress. 

Keep a note of the incident number they give you.

The police recommend that if you are a witness to an incident, do not get involved, record the incident if you can, but to return to your home and report it to the Police, and not to engage in the situation.

For more information, please see this previous post
http://bowesstreet.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/reporting-incidents-to-council-and.html

Wednesday 13 July 2016

Alley Clean Up Event this Sunday 17th July - Hartington/Beresford


Bowes Street Bus Station - Housing Development

At our recent Residents' Association meeting, the future plans for development of the Bowes Street Bus Station site were discussed.

This development will make a big change to the neighbourhood and will affect daily lives, so we feel that it should be a key focus for the residents' association's plans for the coming year.

We feel that, as a residents' association we can be in a stronger position together, to gain information on whatever plans are being made, and to be able to raise any concerns or objections.

Please click on this post to read a recent update from the Moss Side Councillors Team, and for links to view previous plans

Regeneration of Stagecoach/Bus Depot Site
The Moss Side Councillor Team have sent information to the Bowes Street Residents Group in response to concerns regarding the development of the Stagecoach bus depot site.

Wednesday 29 June 2016

Communal Bin Use and Recycling!



At our June Meeting/AGM, the issue of communal bin use and mess in the alleyways was again raised.
Incidentally, a letter from the council about the same issue was posted at a similar time.

The Neighbourhood Service recommend reporting any instances of fly tipping or dumping waste at www.manchester.gov.uk/ - click on "Environmental problems", here you can also arrange collection of bulky items.

Replacement recycling bins can be ordered at www.manchester.gov.uk/recycling, where you can also order kitchen caddies, replacement caddy liners and green bins for food/garden waste. Using a green bin for food waste will reduce landfill and will reduce vermin attracted to the bins.

Please click on this post to view the letter in a larger format and to view the information about what we can and can not recycle in our area - for example, plastic bottles can be recycled in the brown bin, but polystyrene and other plastics cannot be recycled.

It is important that all waste is sorted correctly.

We also noted at the meeting that we encourage everyone to crush their recycling down, so that more can fit in the wheelie bins - if e.g., cardboard boxes are flat, we can all fit more in the blue bin!

Making sure that we all use the bins properly will make our alleyways a much better place for everyone.

Bike Repairs and Women's Bike Riding in Alexandra Park



We picked up some flyers at our recent Resident's Association meeting, at the community room at Alexandra Park, and thought we should share them with you!

Women Only Bike Riding and Bike Fixing supported by Whalley Range On Wheels, Mondays 12-2 PM

Click on this post to view larger images of the flyers

Sunday 5 June 2016

Meeting / AGM 14th June 6.30pm


We have managed to arrange the next meeting! It’s in the community room at Alex Park - near the entrance/next to the tennis courts. It will be nice to see everyone. It’s been a while and it’s time to elect the committee for the new year.


If there are specifics that people want to talk about, just email one of the committee or bowesstreetresidents@gmail.com or get in touch on the mailing list bowes-street-residents@googlegroups.com