Levenshulme Station Ticket Office is under the threat of being closed.
What is being proposed and why?
Northern Rail operates Levenshulme train station and is proposing to close Levenshulme Station Ticket Office and leave us with only a ticket machine. This would be a permanent closure of the ticket office.
Full details of the proposed ticket office closure are available HERE.
You can download a PDF summary of the ticket office closure proposals here:
“We know that stations will play an important part of our vision, which is why we will make sure that they better serve all our customers as well as the local communities that live around them.”
Northern rail, july 2023
Northern Rail’s claim it will “better serve all our customers” by closing Levenshulme Station ticket office is nonsense. That is not better service. It is bad enough that we still have no step free access at Levenshulme Station. It is unacceptable to close our ticket office as well for reasons of safety, accessibility, information, ticket sales and advice.
Ticket sales at Northern Rail operated stations are almost 50% higher than the national average. People depend on the ticket office and the staff for help, advice and information. Ticket machines cannot provide the same services.
How to respond:
The consultation is open now but it ends very soon so please respond as soon as possible with your comments. The consultation is managed by Transport Focus, the independent transport user watchdog, on behalf of Train Operating Companies.
The deadline for responding to the consultation is 23.59 on 28 July.
Remember to name Levenshulme Station in your response.
If you would like to know more about the consultation process and what happens next please go to transportfocus.org.uk
Levenshulme Community Association has already committed to write to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Manchester City Council Leader Bev Craig, our MP Afzal Khan and our local councillors, Zahid Hussain, Dzidra Noor and Basat Sheikh to seek their commitment to oppose the proposed closure of Levenshulme Station Ticket Office. We will also be working with the Friends of Levenshulme Station to campaign against this proposal. We will also say that such a short consultation is not acceptable and must be extended.
Manchester Piccadilly Station Ticket Offices also to be closed
Please note that Manchester Piccadilly Ticket Offices are also threatened with permanent closure. They are operated by Avanti West Coast. You can out information and respond to that proposed closure HERE.
Please join us in campaigning to SAVE OUR STATION TICKET OFFICE.
Manchester City Council has launched a consultation on proposals for Selective Licensing in parts of Levenshulme. This would affect private rented properties.
This is the area proposed in Levenshulme. It would Include flats, suffixed and sub-addresses in this area.
The consultation will run for 10 weeks from 5th October – 14th December 2022.
Please see link below to Manchester City Council’s website, which provides background information about the proposals and includes details of how residents and landlords can have their say, by completing an online questionnaire or by attending an in person drop-in event.
Further information from Manchester City Council is available HERE and below:
Why are we considering selective licensing?
We have introduced a revised Private Rented Sector Strategy (2020-2025) with a detailed implementation plan. This sets out the Council’s approach to the private rented sector over the next five years. The new Housing Strategy (2022-2032) reaffirms our commitment to improving the safety, quality and management of private rented sector homes.
There are approximately 90,000 private rented properties which is 38% of the total housing for the City of Manchester. We know that many PRS (Private Rented Sector) properties provide good quality accommodation, however there are areas of Manchester where PRS properties are not managed to a good standard.
We work with teams across Community Safety, Compliance and Enforcement regularly and work with landlords in the private rented sector in dealing with complaints about anti-social behaviour, poor property management, waste issues and proactively work to remove any concerns in these areas.
Despite this, we have not seen sustained improvements in areas unless additional interventions are introduced. Enforcement against individual properties alone will not improve standards to the level required across each area.
Manchester has previously had an accreditation scheme, and we have considered voluntary accreditation as part of our work in Manchester. However, our experience is that these schemes inevitably attract landlords who are already providing a good service to their tenants and do little to engage or improve the property conditions of those landlords who are not.
The Council has the power to introduce ‘selective licensing schemes’ in areas of Manchester. In these areas private landlords, or their managing agents, would need to have a licence for each house that they rent out. There are approximately 3,200 private rented properties in the current selective licensing schemes and the proposed selective licensing schemes would affect 1,100 private rented properties.
Selective licensing ensures that:
The proposed licence holder is fit and proper to manage their properties.
The licence holder complies with the conditions of the licence, leading to improvements in property management and reductions in anti-social behaviour
Property inspections can be targeted
Landlords provide necessary certification
Unlicensed landlords can face an unlimited fine if prosecuted through the courts, or up to £30,000 if issued by the council.
To make sure that selective licensing helps to improve social or economic conditions, we want to introduce designated zones within the ward areas of Cheetham, Levenshulme, Longsight, Moss Side and Whalley Range, and Rusholme.
When a Selective Licensing designation is being considered an area has to be experiencing one or more of the following conditions:
Low housing demand
A significant and persistent problem caused by anti-social behaviour
High levels of migration
Poor property conditions
High level of deprivation
High levels of crime
Before identifying any areas for selective licensing a ‘hotspot’ mapping exercise was undertaken looking at levels of anti-social behaviour, crime and service requests relating to housing and environmental issues, as well as levels of deprivation across the City. This data was overlaid to identify areas where challenges were likely to be concentrated.
Updated statistics for each of the areas can be found on our key statistics page.
Views were then sought from local Neighbourhood and enforcement teams on boundaries for potential selective licensing areas within these ‘hotspot’ areas based on their local knowledge of the issues within each area.
The proposed licence fee is £800. The licensing fee is split into two parts, the application fee and the grant fee which is payable before any licence is issued. Non-payment of the grant fee will result in an application being delayed.
Once we have set an area for selective licensing, landlords will have three months to get their licences.
Income generated from licensing fees will be used to pay for the consultation process, administration, management and running of the scheme.
The Council does not generate surplus funds from selective licensing schemes. The income generated, the bulk of which is collected in years one and two, is required to manage and resource the scheme for its full designation.
Manchester City Council wants to understand how it can improve its website so that it is easier and quicker to use. The Council is seeking views about what works well on manchester.gov.uk, what doesn’t work well and what you want to use the website for.
There are two options to take part as a resident or as a business.
Residents
What will be involved
The feedback sessions will be events (in-person and online) taking place at a number of locations in Manchester between October 2022 and April 2023. Other residents will attend, and we will gather feedback from everyone in a group setting, with structured discussions facilitated by our team.
These events will be run specifically to gather feedback about manchester.gov.uk, we won’t be able to answer specific questions about council services, such as bin collections etc.
How to sign up
Complete the Manchester Resident Website Feedback Group Sign Up Formbefore 14 October 2022, with your name and contact details. Places in the feedback group are limited, but we may invite you to take part in other feedback sessions in the future.
In this form, you’ll be asked to provide some contact details so we can share details of the Website Feedback Group events with you. See Manchester City Council’s privacy policy.
Businesses
What will be involved
You will be invited to attend feedback sessions (in-person and online) taking place in Manchester between October 2022 and April 2023. Other businesses will attend and our team will facilitate structured workshop discussions.
Places in the feedback group are limited, not everybody who registers will receive an invitation to the first feedback event but we may invite you to take part in future sessions.
Your feedback will help us improve our digital systems so that they are better in the future.
Manchester City Council is holding a consultation on its “Integrated Communities Strategy”.
The council wants views on:
How [the council can] strengthen the ways Mancunians could get along even better.
Your experiences of how different communities interact where you live.
Summary information is below or you can see more detailed information and respond to the consultation HERE
The consultation closes on Friday 15th July 2022.
Manchester Integrated Communities Strategy Consultation
Getting along with each other is key to making Manchester the best it can be for everyone who wants to call our city home.
The Council is currently running a consultation so that residents can tell us about how we strengthen the ways Mancunians could get along even better, and their experiences of how different communities interact where they live.
These views will be used to create the city’s first Integrated Communities Strategy. This strategy will support communities and relationships within them to become stronger – it’s about improving everyone’s chances of a good life.
The UK Government has introduced a Bill into Parliament, seeking the power to build and operate the next section of the HS2 railway between Crewe and Manchester, with a connection to the West Coast Main Line to serve stations in Scotland and the North West.
HS2 Ltd are holding a webinar on Thursday 17 March 2022, 18.00-19.00 to discuss the Crewe to Manchester section of the new railway.
During this webinar we will give a brief presentation on the Bill and point out some of the main features of the proposed new railway in Manchester. The majority of time, however, will be set aside for questions – giving you the chance to ask the team about the Bill and what it means for Manchester.
The LCA has provided a poster to inform people about the final Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood consultation that closes on 30 January. Please feel free to download, print and display this poster to help make people aware of the consultation, find out more and gives their views.
The council held the first of the two video calls on the Active Neighbourhood last night (Thursday 13 January 2022). This was an opportunity for people to ask questions about the current proposals / plans.
The Project Team has responded to the request by Levenshulme Community Association and Levenshulme Traders Association for an extension to the consultation. The new deadline is Sunday 30th January 2022. The deadline was extended to 28 January on 13 January and then extended to 30 January on 14 January. Full information on how to comment is available HERE.
The Project Team has finally provided a plan for Grangethorpe Drive (available HERE), another request of the LCA. Unfortunately a summary of the Randolph Street / Balleratt Street proposals is still missing. The online Feedback Survey is still inconsistent with the proposals listed on the website or on the overview map but at least it is now possible to comment on more than two proposals. The Project Team refused to take comments or questions on any of the 14 trial blocks / filters in Levenshulme which have inexplicably been left out of the consultation.
Although the proposals were broadly welcomed by people commenting on the video call there was frustration that the proposals were disjointed and disconnected and opportunities had been missed. The Project Team said they would look at several locations where issues were raised although it seems we are unlikely to see any revised plans before the council starts implementing them if it secures funding.
Data, evidence, reports or analysis to support the proposals have still not been released and it seems unlikely that Manchester City Council or the Project Team will ever publish this information. The claim by the council from the outset that this would be an evidence based, data driven and community led flagship project ring slightly hollow if members of the community are not allowed to see any of this data or evidence.
We still think an extra four days for the consultation is insufficient to allow people to comment and engage fully when many people have still not received letters informing them the consultation is even happening, posters and hard copies of the plans have only just been made available (we don’t know where these are yet) and the online survey has been changed without informing anybody. All these corrections have been made almost three quarters of the way through the original consultation period. This means a possible six week consultation period is effectively only a consultation of two weeks at best with partially corrected information.
Wesley Evans, the Project Manager, announced the new deadline and summarised the process from this point at the end of the video call:
“Just to say I think we’ve heard loud and clear that the consultation should be extended. There were a few technical issues and what we would do is instead of closing on Monday 24th January we will try and now close it on Friday 28th January.
The reason we don’t want to extend it too much is we want to try to get this works completed really and to do so we’ve got a window of opportunity in order to obtain funding there’s a March 2023 deadline so the next step now is we’ll have the further consultation event next Thursday [20 January 2022] and we’ll close the consultation say the 28th January which give us then time to digest and there’s gonna be a lot of people with different views, different recommendations and we need to at least consider that really so there’s gonna be, er, we need to sit down and go through what people are making recommendations.
Then following on from that we’ll take what we call these outline designs and work on what’s called detailed designs so some of the designs may change but I don’t fundamentally see things changing significantly but there may be tweaks there could be some things we have missed and stuff so as I say we’ll work on what’s called detailed designs next.
Following on from that we move into procurement and then once we’ve got a contractor appointed that’s when we’ll look to start construction of the works. The only thing I would also like to highlight the trial say for Phase One was like an 18 month trial and that ceases I think, I can’t remember the exact date, right at the end of June so we may try to look to do some early work to make what we call the temporary filters permanent, erm, so it may be that we start early works on those to make them permanent and then following on from that hopefully not long after it starts to make the actual works permanent with what you’ve seen today how that evolves really so the next stage is very much we try to enter into detailed designs but like I say we will consider everything and try and do as much as we can.
Like what people say we all wish we had billions of pounds to do absolutely everything. Unfortunately we can’t but all we can do is do our best. We have tried to do our best from the word go but unfortunately we can’t do everything but like I say all I can say is we will consider everything and try and do as much as we can.”
Wesley evans, Active neighbourhood project manager, 13 January 2022
Levenshulme Community Association and Levenshulme Traders Association have jointly called for the current Active Neighbourhood consultation to be extended. There are multiple problems with the way the consultation is being run. We believe these problems must be corrected and then the consultation should be extended to allow proper community engagement.
The letter and concerns are reproduced below and have been sent on 11 January 2022 to: Levenshulme councillors (Zahid Hussain, Dzidra Noor and Basat Sheikh); Burnage councillors (Azra Ali, Ben Clay and Bev Craig who is also Manchester City Council Leader); Manchester City Council Executive member Tracey Rawlins; Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester Mayor); and local MPs Afzal Khan and Jeff Smith. Copied to the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood Project Team.
Councillors have confirmed the Active Neighbourhood scheme will have a new public consultation and nothing is confirmed yet.
A meeting attended by over 60 residents, including Levenshulme Community Association Secretary Jeremy Hoad, was at times tense but has brought some welcome clarity to the current status of the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood.
“Following the end of this trial, and reviews of feedback, all 14 filters will be made permanent.“
Manchester City Council statement, 13 September 2021
Councillors say this statement by Manchester City Council about the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood scheme was made “out of context” and this is only a partial explanation of the current situation. The current road blocks / “modal filters” will only be made permanent if a full plan for the Active Neighbourhood is approved for implementation following a public consultation.
The next stage designs will provide a full plan for interventions well beyond the current trial of 14 road blocks / “modal filters” in Levenshulme. This is the first time our community will be provided with comprehensive proposals and and a plan for the Active Neighbourhood, three years after the project started. It is understood the plans will include measures for both Levenshulme and Burnage.
The statement went on to say that:
“This month [August 2021] the Highways Service presented the initial outline designs for the proposed next stage of the Active Travel Neighbourhood scheme to ward councillors in both areas. These were agreed in principle, with the plans also submitted to Transport for Greater Manchester for their review and comment.”
Manchester City Council statement, 13 September 2021
A New Public Consultation
The new plans will be released soon and go to a public consultation. Councillors did not provide details of the consultation but accepted that previous consultations and the scheme as a whole had been “…a complete mess from the beginning…” and that it had “…gone wrong…”. They stated they had been “…working behind the scenes…” to improve the plans and had rejected previous drafts before accepting the current proposals.
Councillor Hussain stated that so far the project had spent £800,000 and that the budget had been reduced for the whole scheme. The original budget was up to £700,000 for development work and to undertake a trial with a further £1.8m available dependent on a successful business case proposal to TfGM for full implementation.
When pressed by residents councillors clarified that if residents were not happy with all the proposals then the scheme would not go ahead and everything – including the current road blocks / “modal filters” – would be removed.
It was also stated by councillors that the road blocks / “modal filters” would not be retained or made permanent until or unless problems on all roads were addressed, something councillors had insisted on for the scheme to progress. No scheme would be approved before that. However, councillors were confident that the community would welcome the final plans when they saw the designs.
Where’s the Data?
Councillors were also asked “Where’s the data?” as the whole scheme was claimed to be evidence based and data driven as well as community led. Councillors explained that the filters had been left in place so that the project could gather more data after the trial had finished [in June 2021] as Covid19 restrictions were lifted. Monitoring, managed by Manchester Urban Observatory (based at the University of Manchester) had taken place throughout the trial. Doubts were raised by residents about how accurate, useful or comprehensive this data was as well as the placement of monitoring equipment.
What will the final plans look like?
More comprehensive, inclusive and balanced, it seems. Reference was made to traffic calming, chicanes, crossings, pavement improvements and speed tables (large raised flat areas on the road). These are the sorts of measures residents, businesses and community groups (including Levenshulme Community Association) have been calling for throughout the project.
Unfortunately the attitude previously of the Project Team (with Sustrans and Levenshulme Bee Network before they were removed from the project in 2020) was dismissive of this more balanced approach and focussed primarily on installing road blocks / “modal filters” to create a “Low Traffic Neighbourhood”.
Residents also raised concerns about a number of related issues: dangerous driving in the area which was getting worse; problems with HGVs; speeding; anti-social behaviour around the road blocks; ongoing issues with emergency services and problems for carers and other service providers needing to easily meet residents’ needs. These reflected concerns that had consistently been raised by the LCA, residents and businesses that the approach throughout the project had been limited and did not focus on solving the problems we faced as a community or prioritise the aims of the project to actually make our roads safer and encourage walking and cycling.
Councillors stressed that the scheme was “…not about cycling…” but about “…Active Travel, creating shared space and provision for walking, cycling and drivers getting around.”
What happens next?
The final Active Neighbourhood plans should be made public in the next few weeks. The council has already indicated there will be a public engagement meeting in late September / early October.
Serious concerns were raised about how the consultation would be run. Residents made clear that they were dissatisfied with previous consultation and engagement and councillors accepted this had not been done well. Residents at the meeting highlighted the exclusive, biased and insecure nature of the online Commonplace system and the limited and ineffective information available.
As yet it is unclear what changes will be made to the consultation process, when it will start or how long it will run for. It is also unclear how decisions will be made, what criteria will be used and what attempts will be made to ensure the whole community can get involved and have their voices heard effectively.
Councillors Sheikh and Hussain were thanked for their attendance at the meeting and it was made clear by residents that this ongoing discussion was very welcome. Thanks also to Mark at the Bluebell for hosting the meeting.
Levenshulme Community Association will continue to provide updates and announcements as they are available to enable residents and businesses to be fully involved in this next stage of what has so far been a frustrating and difficult experience for many people.
Lidl are proposing to build a new supermarket on the Fallowfield Retail Park on Birchdfields Road near the roundabouts at the top of Kingsway.
The plans would mean demolishing all buildings on the right hand side of the entrance road apart from the Hawthorne Medical Practice and replacing them with a new Lidl store which is anticipated to create around 40 jobs.
You can read the MEN article about the plans HERE. Please note the phone number given at the end of this article is incorrect.
The consultation for what has been reclassified as Phase 2 of the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood covering part of Burnage Ward has been extended to 25 January 2021. The council website says 21 January but letters recently sent out to some people now state 25 January.
The council Project Team is also planning four online video events to allow people to comment. These are planned to happen in January. The council says it is organising these meetings geographically “…to allow people to talk in more detail about their local area and hear the views of their neighbours“. Each meeting will last one hour.
The meetings will be:
A Grangethorpe Drive, Crossley Road and connecting streets and the area to the south of the LBAN boundary between A34 Kingsway to the south of Cringle Park
B Area between A34 Kingsway and Burnage Lane, south of Fallowfield Loop
C Area bounded by A34, Moseley Road, and streets off Slade Lane north of the Fallowfield Loop
D Area bounded by Albert Road and the railway line, and streets off Forrest Range and Errwood Road north of the Fallowfield Loop
E Area bounded by Stockport Road and Crossley Road, including streets off Errwood Road south of the Fallowfield Loop
If you are interested in attending one of the online events to talk about the trial in Phase 2 of the project covering the Burnage Ward please email: levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk stating which event (A-E) you wish to attend.
NOTE: The project email address has not been working for some weeks. If you have any difficulty all we can suggest is you keep trying. The council has been made aware of this problem.
The council is holding an online event for businesses to discuss the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood scheme Phase 1 (Levenshulme). The Project Team says:
“We felt that people attending [previous] events did not fully represent all of the business community in Levenshulme, and for this reason, we are reaching out to offer an additional event to ensure local businesses are aware of the scheme and have the chance to have their say.”
The event will take place at 18.00-19.00 on Thursday 14 January, 2021
The meeting will be attended by Levenshulme Councillors, colleagues from the Highways Service and Central Neighbourhood Team.
Please also share this information with any other businesses in the area who you think would be interested in taking part. The Active Neighbourhood project and the current trial of road blocks / “modal filters” are likely to have a significant impact on businesses. You can find a list of the locations at www.manchester.gov.uk/consultations.
[EDIT: The project email address is now working again]
Thee project email address has not been working properly recently so please feel free to email the LCA and we will pass your request on to the Project Team. If you cannot get through on the project email use this email address <secretary@levenshulmecommunity.org.uk> and add “LBAN Business Meeting” in the subject line.
The council would have had to issue formal notification of the Phase 1 road blocks / “modal filters” trial today at the latest if it was to start on 19 December as previously announced. However, there is no notice in the “public notices” section of the MEN. The council’s website also makes no mention of the trial starting on 19 December and the project website also has no announcements or updates.
In fact, reference to the Phase 1 trial start date has been removed from the council’s website which now says “The trial measures will start to be put in place from December (during school holidays).” So the trial is still planned to start in December but it doesn’t look like that will happen on 19 December.
The phrasing on the council’s website also suggests all elements of the trial will not be installed at the same time. This might have something to do with the proposed road works at the end of Broom Lane and Chapel Street where those roads meet the A6 that are part of the plans released in September 2020. These haven’t even started yet. Without those changes all residents and businesses in the blocked off area off Chapel Street would have to access their properties via Elbow Street. If the trial measures are installed in phases that would also suggest the trial will run for longer than the original six months as all measures must be trialled for a minimum of six months.
So we have more waiting with a continued lack of information. It isn’t even clear today – the legal deadline for announcing the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order to commence on 19 December – when the council might even start to install the trial measures, how long the trial measures will take to install fully, where specifically there are to be located on the roads, how turning points and access will be facilitated, whether emergency services have approved any plans yet or even what will be included in the plans as they might change from the revised plans announced in September. Or they might not.
Phase 2 (Burnage)
At the moment we also do not know how and plans for Phase 2 covering Burnage Ward will be decided on or trialled. There is an ongoing consultation on Phase 2 until 21 December 2020.
We understand an online consultation event was planned for Crossley Road and Grangethorpe Drive although no details were provided when requested.
Monitoring and data gathering
Additional traffic and air quality equipment is also planned for some of the busier “through routes” but this might not be installed until next year. We will provide further updates once any changes or additions are confirmed. This monitoring is being done by Manchester Urban Observatory at the University of Manchester and started earlier this summer. Unfortunately this means there may not be any substantive pre-trial data for comparison with the trial data once the road blocks / “modal filters” are installed for our busiest roads.
The Active Neighbourhood project itself has not installed any traffic or air quality monitoring equipment in the almost two years the project has been running despite previous claims this was being done in the summer of 2019. Information on the Manchester Urban Observatory monitoring was previously reported by the LCA HERE and the data is freely available on the MUO website HERE.
Further consultation
The Active Neighbourhood project has confirmed its intention to hold further consultation events online with businesses and what it identifies as “the BAME community”. This was announced at the online events at the end of October 2020. So far not dates have been confirmed for these events but we will provide information as and when they are confirmed. The second stage consultation on the revised plans announced in September ended on 4 November 2020.
The further delays and lack of information is, to say the least, disappointing.
Clarification on road works near schools
For clarification please note that the roadworks being undertaken on Barlow Road at the back of Chapel Street Primary School, the previous work done on Broom Lane to install traffic calming and the work done around Alma Park Primary School has nothing to do with the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood project. This work is part of a separate initiative for safer streets around schools. A previous LCA article about this is available HERE.
Please see below a message from Cath Keane, Neighbourhood Liaison Manager at the MCC Highways Service and part of the Active Neighbourhood team, regarding an event for local businesses. This is welcome and follows up on a previous commitment for further engagement.
Please draw this to the attention of any businesses in the area so they can take part.
Manchester City Council held formal consultation around a scheme to make walking and cycling easier and safer in Levenshulme. We also held a number of face to face on line events which allowed people to have their say on the suggested measures. These events were well attended and gave around 170 people the chance to have their say, while more than 3,500 others have responded through our website.
However, we felt that people attending these on line events did not fully represent all of the business community in Levenshulme, and for this reason, we are reaching out to offer an additional event to ensure local businesses are aware of the scheme and have the chance to have their say.
Although the formal consultation end date has passed, we are still keen to receive feedback for the next six months as this will inform any final, permanent measures which could be implemented.
If you or representatives from your organisations would be interested in attending an on line event about the trial in Levenshulme, please email levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk.
If you would find it useful to have an interpreter at the on line event, please let us know and we can arrange it.
The event date will be confirmed in the near future and we will send details to everyone who has emailed us to request an invite. To join the meeting, you will need a laptop or smart phone . A link will be sent which you can click and join.
Please use the levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk email address if you have any other queries concerning this scheme. Further information about Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhoods scheme is also availabe on our website at www.manchester.gov.uk
We look forward to hearing from you.
Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood Business Engagement Event
The Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood website is available HERE
Manchester City Council is planning three online events (via Microsoft Teams) to hear your ideas about Levenshulme & Burnage Active Neighbourhood Project plans. The project proposes a trial of 25 road blocks / “modal filters” all around Levenshulme starting on 19 December 2020 and running for six months.
There are other possible elements to the project that have not been confirmed yet but the trial will only be for the road blocks / “modal filters”.
Three dates have been arranged for the public meeting, which will take place on:
Further information is available on the Project Website and on the LCA website HERE (including documents not available on the project website).
Manchester City Council and the Project Team has only announced these online events via Twitter. There is no information on either the council’s own website or the Project website.
The deadline for commenting on the Active Neighbourhood plans has been extended to Wednesday 4 November 2020.
The LCA has requested all publicity material for the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood Project including in different languages. All material that is currently available can be downloaded below as PDF documents. There are instructions here on how to comment on the plans online, by email and by written questionnaire including deadlines that have now changed.
Be aware that all the maps in the printed materials are different and the deadline for comment has been extended by a week because of a mistake in the printed materials that have been distributed.
As of today (16 October 2020) only the questionnaire leaflet is available in any language apart from English. That language is Romanian.
UPDATE: Urdu version of the questionnaire leaflet added on 23 October 2020
UPDATE: Bengali version of the questionnaire leaflet added on 22 October 2020
UPDATE: Arabic version of questionnaire leaflet added on 19 October 2020.
The Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood deadline for feedback and comment has been extended to Wednesday 4th November 2020.
You can find out more about what the plans are and how to give feedback HERE.
Many people in our community still haven’t received notification of these plans. The LCA had written to the Project Team requesting an extension to the deadline so an extra week is helpful although we still don’t think that is sufficient. In the meantime you can download the booklet and poster by following the link above.
We have also requested a PDF copy of the Active Neighbourhood questionnaire form to make available to people but so far this has been refused and we have been told people must go to either Arcadia Library and Leisure Centre or Burnage Library to collect a paper copy of the booklets and forms. Publicity material has also been requested in other languages for distribution but so far this has not been provided and does not seem to be available yet.
Manchester City Council has now released an information booklet and poster on the revised plans for the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood project. You can download PDFs of both below.
You can also request paper copies of the booklet and information in other languages by emailing: levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk Copies will be made available in the Arcadia Library and Leisure Centre and hopefully at other locations in the area (to be confirmed).
The website for feedback is available HERE. Comments must be received by Wednesday 28 October 2020.
Letters have been sent to schools this week and should be received by all residents and businesses across the project area in Levenshulme and Burnage next week. This will allow about two weeks to comment on all four response areas and the 25 proposed individual road blocks / “modal filters”.
The MCC website currently says:
Comments on the trial (Phase 1) area will need to reach us by 28 October to be accepted, but all feedback given during the trial period (19 December 2020 to19 June 2021) will be reviewed before any final decisions are made. Feedback on problem areas and what the issues are in Cringle Park (Phase 2) are also welcomed, and can influence the trial, which is currently due to start early in 2021. These will need to be received by 21 December 2020.
MCC LBAN feedback dates
NOTE: Information on the council’s website has been changing every few days in the past two weeks probably partly due to the project losing its second Project Manager after the new plans were released on Monday 02 October. The LCA will continue to monitor whatever is released and make sense of the process.
We will also request an extension to the feedback deadline as two weeks seems unreasonably short period for people to understand the complex proposals and comment on the scheme especially as no formal notification of the engagement process and new plans has been sent to residents or businesses yet.
Active Neighbourhood online feedback deadline 28 October 2020
Road Blocks / “Modal Filters” trial will run from 19 December 2020 to 19 June 2021
UPDATE: The Manchester City Council website did not mention any dates initially, then within the last week the dates were added. It seemed the dates had been removed but actually an extra page of text was added to the MCC website on 7th October HERE that still includes the dates.
Manchester City Council still hasn’t actually informed anybody about the new plans and consultation on the proposed Active Neighbourhood but it has set a deadline for feedback.
Letters were promised to all residents, businesses, schools and community groups but so far nothing has been sent out. We were also promised a phone line to make comments and that has not yet been provided and an email address which so far doesn’t seem to exist. The new website for commenting is only available in English. No posters or information have been put up in the area informing people about the online consultation. So the only way to comment on a scheme the council hasn’t officially told anyone about yet is online HERE.
Regardless of not telling anyone about the new plans apart from a tweet from our MP, Afzal Khan, that was shared by some councillors the council has now provided a deadline when the online consultation will end on 28th October. So we won’t be able to comment on a plan the council hasn’t told anybody about after 28th October.
There are now 25 individual road blocks / “modal filters” on the new plans in Phase 1 covering Levenshulme. The Commonplace website says temporary crossings and traffic calming will be included the trial but there is no evidence of these on the new plans although part of the online consultation invites comments about these. A summary of the new plans is available HERE.
Note that the project has now been renamed “Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood”. When it was called Levenshulme Bee Network it included part of Burnage. Now it is called Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood that part of Burnage is now excluded from the trial starting in December.
The part of Burnage included in the project is now identified as “Phase 2”. The project claims it will reduce traffic in the area but the council says the Burnage area has now been excluded from the December trial “…because of the density of schools in the Cringle Brook (Phase 2) area, and issues with traffic congestion…” which is a little confusing.
The Phase 2 area covers part of Burnage Ward and was identified previously as “Cringle Park Area”, not “Cringle Brook” as the council website says. The road blocks / “modal filters” that were in the previous plans in what is now Phase 2 have been removed from the new plans and you are invited to propose ideas for Burnage Ward. No timeline is available for Phase 2.
The project was paused in the summer to allow for further and more extensive engagement with the community. The July statement from Levenshulme councillors is below for reference. Since then a new Project Manager was appointed by the council, new plans developed that seem to be almost identical to the original plans despite them receiving considerable opposition from our community and the Burnage section of the project has been removed from the trial despite Sustrans (who developed the plans for the council) saying the whole scheme needed to be trialled or it wouldn’t work.
The whole thing is ever more confusing but further updates will be provided as things develop to try and keep people informed.
The project has now been split into two with Phase 1 covering Levenshulme and Phase 2 covering Burnage. A trial of road blocks / “modal filters” will start in December 2020 and last for a minimum of six months.
Note that a “modal filter” is the name given to something that blocks the road to vehicular traffic but still allows access through for pedestrians and cyclists (and presumably mopeds and motorbikes).
Manchester City Council says:
We now have a plan for the future direction of the project, and have decided to tackle it in two phases. We would like your feedback on some of the measures which we are going to trial (Phase 1). The trial measures will start to be put in place from December (during school holidays).This is also a great way for the scheme to be seen in action, tested and analysed, so it can be tweaked or changed where required but also allow peoples habits to change and through traffic to re-route.
Because of the density of schools in the Cringle Park (Phase 2) area, and issues with traffic congestion, we are continuing to seek opinions from local residents, businesses and schools on what measures are needed and where before they are trialled.
We hope to commence the trial in the Festive season break in December and will last a minimum of 6 months. The final designs for the Active neighbourhood will be drawn up based on the results of the consultation and implemented within 18 months should the funding application be successful.
MCC Active Neighbourhood Plans
The Phase 1 trial area excludes Burnage. No date has been suggested yet for Phase 2 in Burnage. The Phase 1 / Phase 2 split has been done based on political Wards, not the Park Area cells the Project has identified which is why the Henderson Street road block / “modal filter” is included in Phase 1.
The Levenshulme Phase 1 trial identifies 25 road blocks / “modal filters” outlined on the map below. The revised plans are not very different to the original plans. We will look at them in detail and post further information once we have worked out what differences there are.
The Phase 1 trial is still primarily for road blocks / “modal filters”. The council is also asking for feedback on where temporary crossings and traffic calming could be located as part of its Phase 1 consultation. The council says:
The trial includes a number of temporary crossing points and traffic calming measures to provide immediate benefits on routes that have been raised through previous consultation. [ * ]
We understand from previous feedback that traffic volume and speeds make certain streets hard to cross. We’d like you to tell us where you feel crossing points or traffic calming may help day to day life and make getting around safer and easier.
Further community feedback on the locations of these is welcomed, so that a final Trial Plan can be developed. The trial plan has a degree of flexibility once live, but we need to allow the trial to bed in to understand how habits change and the trial is being used.
MCC Active Neighbourhood crossings and traffic calming
[ * NOTE: there is no evidence of this on the map for the Phase 1 trial]
Give your feedback
Phase 1 feedback (Levenshulme) can only be made by responding to the 25 locations identified by the council. You can, however, drop a pin on the map for the Phase 2 feedback (Burnage) to identify a location and comment where you think an intervention could or should be located.
Phase 1 (Levenshulme)
You can comment HERE on the proposed road blocks / “modal filters”.
You can comment HERE on where you think crossings and traffic calming should go.
Manchester City Council is half way through its ten year strategy for the city. It is now doing a survey about priorities at the half way point. You can go direct to the survey (deadline 23rd September 2020) HERE.
The questions in the survey are weighted towards prioritising issues that have already been determined but there is also opportunity to comment.
The Council’s description / introduction to the survey is below for reference or can be viewed HERE.
The current version of the “Manchester Strategy” is available HERE. The existing priorities state that the city needs to be:
Thriving — creating great jobs and healthy businesses that our people benefit from.
Filled with talent – homegrown in all our local communities as well as the world’s best.
Fair — with equal chances for all to unlock their potential, no matter where in our city they were born, or where they live.
A great place to live — with loads to do, leading the way to a low-carbon future that creates new opportunities for our residents
Buzzing with connections — world-class transport and brilliant broadband that put all Mancunians in touch with chances to get ahead.
The Council says:
“The challenge to now include everyone in this successful future is bigger than ever. But Manchester is determined to do it. We’ve seen, through the COVID spring of 2020, what coming together in new ways, and doing things differently, can achieve.
Help to reset Manchester’s ambition to be the place where everyone can be everything they want to be. Take the survey, tell us your priorities, share your ideas and let us know how you can play your part in moving Our Manchester on.”
Manchester City Council has been allocated funding from the (Greater Manchester) Mayor’s Challenge Funding (MCF) to improve the Fallowfield Loop. Funding will go towards cycling and walking improvements to help the public safely make essential trips by walking, cycling and other active modes of travel. Measures that are already being looked at include:
Providing Street Lighting along the route.
Introduce more litter bins and seating areas.
Widening the route to 3 metres or more.
Introduce new areas of public realm for everyone to enjoy.
The Fallowfield Loop proposals are the latest of Manchester’s Bee Network proposals to be developed and the Council is asking for feedback to help determine the details of the plan.
You can also see a video below about the project from Angeliki Stogia, Manchester City Council Executive Member with responsibility for environment, transport and planning.
Following intervention by Manchester City Council and local councillors the Levenshulme Bee Network project has been “paused” to allow for further consultation.
This follows considerable concern across our community after the Levenshulme Bee Network released proposals for a trial of 29 vehicle road blocks (referred to as “modal filters”) across the area.
The maps released by Levenshulme Bee Network at the end of May also included other things such as a series of new and improved pedestrian crossings, bike racks, a “parklet” and several bus gates blocking the road to other vehicles but these are not part of the trial that was due to start in July.
Levenshulme Community Association will continue to ensure our community is informed and involved as further information is available about what this means including how people can contribute and have their voices heard.