Another Active Neighbourhood Consultation On New £7 million Plans

Manchester City Council has announced today that there will be another consultation on final plans for the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood scheme. This follows the release of three sets of “final plans” over a year ago and one “final consultation”. The news release says:

“A consultation will soon take place on a proposal to include an additional crossing on the A6, expanding the provision of high-quality and safer walking and cycling routes, with the intention being that local people are better connected by safer walking, wheeling, and cycling routes with local shops and facilities.”

MCC news release, 12 july 2023

This would be helpful after well over a year of silence on the scheme from the council and councillors. The only works undertaken so far have been in Burnage Ward on Errwood Road and the installation of the permanent versions of the 14 modal filters / road blocks across Levenshulme Ward. Sadly the filters do not include any trees in the concrete blocks as was originally promised. There is still no news on the proposed modal filters / road blocks on Linden Park and Milwain Road.

The council says the latest “final plans” will cost £7 million:

“The cost, estimated at £7m in total, is likely to be split between MCC and GMCA. The proposed solution will allow the successful delivery of this project as part of the Bee Network in the local area as well as allowing specific Council-led design choices that respond to public consultation feedback.”

MCC news release, 12 july 2023

This is over 300% more than the original budget of £2.3 million. In 2022 Levenshulme councillor Basat Sheikh said the cost for the scheme had increased to £4.6 million. The vast majority of the funding was originally from the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Challenge Fund using money provided by the government and included a contribution from Manchester City Council of £100,000. The council has not said how much of the new proposed £7 million cost will come from Manchester City Council.

The original proposals included significantly more than last year’s “final plans” proposed so it will be interesting to see what the new “final plans” include and whether any more of what the Council and the now defunct Levenshulme Bee Network had promised has been reinstated. Levenshulme Councillors have recently said that the Council will not install any more modal filters / road blocks.

Levenshulme Community Association has consistently supported the idea of an Active Neighbourhood and made positive proposals throughout the several years of this project. If the new “final plans” include improvements to pavements and crossings and cycle routes that actually connect across and outside the area as this announcement suggests then that will be a big improvement on the previous “final plans” that only included one cycle lane that ran half way along Matthews Lane and did not connect to anything at either end. Pavement and accessibility improvements were also previously limited to only a handful of roads in the area.

The LCA will continue to provide further updates as information becomes available.

Manchester Evening News also has an article on the latest announcement from Manchester City Council.

The council news item is HERE

The MEN article is HERE

School Street at St Andrew’s Primary School

St Andrew’s Primary School will be holding a School Street event next Thursday 17th February at pick-up time (between 2.30pm & 4pm).

Parents are encouraged to make active choices with their children about travel to school. Information will be provided to neighbours this week and parents (including Superkids) early next week.

Access to Broom Avenue will only be possible for residents and those with particular needs. For others who do need to use their cars, there are many places nearby within a 2 minute walk of Broom Avenue that are available to park and walk the final bit, including on the Loop to the back gate of school.

It is hoped that this could be an opportunity for those who are able to make a walking choice to do so.

Thanks to George Reeves for this information.

Active Neighbourhood Consultation Extended

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

Active Neighbourhood Consultation and Full Plans

  • Information released 17 December 2021
  • Updated with Grangethorpe Drive plan 14 January 2022
  • NEW DEADLINE for consultation 30 January 2022 (announced 14 January)

Manchester City Council has released the final plans for the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood today. A consultation is now open for the next six weeks.

The overview map is below. An interactive version that you can zoom in on is available HERE.

Scroll down to see ALL information published by the the council.

How can you comment on these proposals?

View the map and have your say

There will also be two engagement events held on:
  • 13 January 6.30pm to 7.30pm
  • 20 January 6.30pm to 7.30pm

If you would like to attend one of these events please email the council’s Project Team at levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk to register your interest. You will be sent details on how to join.

Continue reading

Active Neighbourhood – Nothing Confirmed Yet

What’s Going On With Our Active Neighbourhood?

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.

Levenshulme Councillors Basat Sheikh and Zahid Hussain attended a meeting organised by the One Levenshulme group on 20 September after the release of a statement from Manchester City Council that said:

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.

Active Neighbourhood Phase 2 (Burnage) Consultation Extended And Online Events Announced

Phase 2 Consultation deadline extended

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.

You can leave comments by sending an email to the project levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk or giving feedback using the project website HERE

PHASE 2 Online Events

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.

Action on Dangerous Planters

Large wooden planters were installed on 14 roads across Levenshulme on Monday 4 January as part of the council’s Active Neighbourhood scheme for Levenshulme and Burnage.

Currently the planters pose a significant danger as there are no signs on them and no reflective hazard strips. They are particularly dangerous when it gets dark as well as when people come across them unexpectedly on the roads. No road signs are in place to warn of changes to the road layout either. Unfortunately some planters have also been moved and modifications have been made to block pavements to prevent vehicles driving around the planters.

LCA Secretary Jeremy Hoad has been in touch with councillors to highlight these problems and the LCA can confirm that:

  • Warning signs will be added to the planters starting on Wednesday 5 January to be completed by Friday 7 January at the latest;
  • Street signs will be installed to notify road users of the change to road layout and restricted access;
  • Additional measures will be put in place to make the planters more secure, possibly by adding brackets and bolting them to the ground or linking them together.
  • New bollards will be installed on pavements either side of the planters to prevent vehicles driving around the planters.

This is very welcome news and will make the planters more effective and safe during this six month trial.

How to give feedback

A formal consultation is now active. If you wish to comment you can use the project website HERE.

You can also email the Project Team: levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk (please note that this email address is currently not working but the council is aware of this and looking into it)

If you wish to lodge an objection (quoting reference L/GS/EVD2001/1887) you can email the council here: phlegal@manchester.gov.uk

or write to the council:

Fiona Ledden, City Solicitor PO Box 532, Town Hall, Manchester, M60 2LA

Active Neighbourhood Trials Announced

Active Neighbourhood will start very soon

The formal notification of the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood has been published. You can view the announcement HERE or read the text below. The notice was dated 18 December 2020 and states it will come into force on 26 December 2020.

Phase 1 of the scheme will install 14 road blocks / “modal filters” for at least six months across Levenshulme. The council has said that a further five road blocks / “modal filters” might be added during the trial but this has not been confirmed yet.

The council had originally said the trial measures would be installed from 4-8 January 2021 but now says “early January”.

A consultation on measures for Phase 2 (covering parts of Burnage Ward) is still live. You can take part and submit comments HERE or by emailing the council directly <levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk>. This consultation closes on 21 January 2021.

Where are the road blocks / “modal filters” going?

The 14 filters which will be installed on a trial basis early in the New Year are at:

  • Buckhurst Road
  • Cardus Street (North)
  • Delamere Road and Gordon Avenue
  • Dorset Road
  • Caremine Avenue
  • Guildford Road
  • Henderson Street
  • Longden Road
  • Manor Road (East)
  • Mayford Road
  • Molyneux Road
  • Osborne Road
  • Portville Road and Randolph Street
  • Victoria Road

Unfortunately the council has not provided any detailed plans of where these road blocks / “modal filters” will be located or whether parking spaces will need to be removed to allow vehicles accessing these roads to turn around despite repeated requests for greater clarity and detail.

Five more proposed filters are being paused until an assessment can be made of what their impact would be on surrounding residential streets, but could still form part of the phase 1 trial, with alternative solutions to be considered as part of the wider scheme development.  These are at Chapel Street (East), Crayfield Road, Dunstable Street, Manor Road (West) and Marley Road.

Public Announcement Text

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

Notice is hereby given that on the 11th December 2020 Manchester City Council made the following Orders under Sections 9 and 10 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. The Orders, which will be introduced on an experimental basis for a period of up to 18 months are as follows:- City of Manchester (Various Roads, Levenshulme) (Prohibition of Driving Except Cycles And Revocation) (Experimental) Order 2020

The effect of the Order will be to introduce the following:

Experimental Prohibition Of Driving (Except Cycles) on –

Buckhurst Rd – both sides from its junction with Albert Road in a northerly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Cardus St – both sides from its junction with Cromwell Grove in a northerly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Caremine Ave – both sides from a point 10 metres west of its junction with Lonsdale Road in a westerly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Dorset Rd – both sides from its junction with Fairbourne Road in a westerly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Gordon Ave – Gordon Avenue/Delamere Road junction, from the north east corner of the junction to the south west corner with a minimum width of 2 metres.

Guildford Rd – both sides from a point 2 metres south west of its junction with Norley Drive in a south westerly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Henderson St – both sides from a point 32 metres north west of its junction with Nall Street in a north westerly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Longden Rd – both sides from its junction with Stovell Avenue in an easterly direction for a distance of 2 metres.

Manor Rd – both sides from a point 80 metres east of its junction Audley Road in an easterly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Mayford Rd – both sides from a its junction with Stockport Road in an easterly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Molyneux Rd – both sides from its junction with Cumbrae Road in a southerly direction for a distance of 2 metres.

Osborne Rd – both sides from its junction with Slade Lane in a north easterly direction for a distance of 5 metres.

Randolph St – both sides from a point 13.5 metres south of its junction with Mayford Road in a southerly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

Victoria Rd – both sides from its junction with Albert Road in a north westerly direction for a distance of 3 metres.

City of Manchester (Cardus Street, Manchester) (Experimental Revocation of One Way Traffic) Order 2020 The above Order is revoked in its entirety.

The Orders shall come into operation on 26th December 2020.

A copy of the Orders, together with the plans showing the roads to which they relate and a Statement of the Council’s Reasons for making the Orders may be inspected at Customer Service Centre Ground Floor, Town Hall Extension M60 2LA (for Sat. Nav. use M2 5DB) between the hours of 9.00am and 4.30pm on Monday to Friday inclusive for a period of 6 months until 26th June 2021. Due to Covid 19 restrictions please ensure that the Contact Centre is open before attending. If it is closed or you are unable to attend, a copy of the plan may be requested (without payment) by emailing phlegal@manchester.gov.uk or writing to the address at the end of this notice.

The City Council will be considering in due course whether the provisions of the Order should be continued in force indefinitely. Within a period of six months from the coming into force of the Order or if the Order is subsequently varied or amended from the coming into force of the variation or modification (whichever is the latter) any person may object to the indefinite continuation of the provisions of the Orders.

Any person wishing to object should submit their grounds of objection in writing to phlegal@manchester.gov.uk or the address below no later than 26th June 2021 quoting reference L/GS/EVD2001/1887.

Any person who wishes to question the validity of the Orders or of any provision contained in it on the grounds that they are not within the powers conferred by the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 or on the grounds that any requirement of that Act or of any instrument made under it have not been complied with in relation to the Order may within six weeks from 11th December 2020 apply to the High Court for such purpose.

Signed: Fiona Ledden, City Solicitor PO Box 532, Town Hall, Manchester, M60 2LA

Dated: 18th December 2020

TM REF: 226043115-01

Active Neighbourhood Delays

It looks like the start of the Levenshulme and Burnage Active Neighbourhood trial has been delayed (although it is possible we have missed the formal announcement).

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.

Active Neighbourhood Project Online Meetings

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: 

  • Monday 26 October 2020 from 6 pm – 7 pm
  • Thursday 29 October 2020 from 6 pm – 7 pm
  • Monday 2 November 2020 from 6 pm – 7 pm.

To take part, please register your details via: levyburnageproject@manchester.gov.uk stating your preferred date and time. 

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.

Active Neighbourhood Update: Documents, Deadlines & Feedback

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.

Continue reading

MEN Article On School Traffic “Chaos”

Levenshulme is in the news with an article in the Manchester Evening News about traffic problems around schools.

“A community campaign group [Streets For People] is urging local councillors to take action on dangerous parking and increased school traffic in south Manchester.”

Extract from MEN article

Streets For People is hosting a Zoom meeting on Sunday 20th September 2020 at 3pm. The group says:

We are organising a public meeting on the issue of what’s happening with the Low Traffic Neighbourhood proposals, and especially the council’s inaction on the dangerous situation outside schools caused by motor traffic.

We challenge the Levenshulme and Burnage councillors and council leadership to attend this meeting and explain to residents what is happening.”

Streets For People

Read the full article HERE

You can view the Streets for People video below or on their website HERE.

GM Road Charging Clean Air Plan

Government has directed Greater Manchester to introduce a ‘category C’ charging Clean Air Zone. This would cover local roads across the whole of Greater Manchester from spring 2022, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The intention is to to bring nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels on local roads within legal limits as soon as possible.

The proposed Clean Air Zone aims to:

  • Bring NO2 emissions within legal limits as soon as possible and by 2024 at the latest.
  • Discourage polluting commercial vehicles from travelling on local roads in Greater Manchester.
  • Encourage businesses to switch to cleaner, low- or zero-emission vehicles.

The proposed Zone would cover all local roads across Greater Manchester. It would not include motorways and some main trunk roads managed by Highways England. The exact boundary is being developed by looking in detail at the local road network and using public feedback. See the Greater Manchester boundary, and the stretches of roads which have been identified as breaching legal NO2 limits without action, on our MappingGM page.

The most polluting commercial vehicles would pay a daily charge to travel on local roads in the Zone. Private cars, motorbikes and mopeds would not be charged. The Zone would be enforced by a network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.

The following are proposed daily charges for the non-compliant commercial vehicles:

  • Buses, coaches and Heavy Good Vehicles (HGV) – £60 (from spring 2022)
  • Taxis and private hire vehicles – £7.50 (from spring 2022)
  • Light Goods Vehicles (LGV) such as vans and minibuses – £10 (temporary exemption until 2023)

If the daily charge for a non-compliant vehicle isn’t paid, a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) of £120 would be issued, in addition to the unpaid daily charge.

The 10 Greater Manchester local authorities have worked together to consider a wide range of measures to tackle air pollution, alongside a Clean Air Zone. Together, these form the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan.

The costs of introducing a Clean Air Zone are covered by government. 

Further information including proposed charges are available HERE.

An eight week consultation will be launched in October 2020.

Levenshulme Bee Network Through Routes

A trial will start in July 2020 of some of the Levenshulme Bee Network changes to our roads. 29 locations will have changes with roads being blocked to vehicle traffic. But which roads will not be affected?

Residents have made their own maps to help people see which routes will not have road blocks to vehicles on them starting in July (referred to as “modal filters”). These roads are likely to have significantly increased traffic.

The reason these have been done is the Levenshulme Bee Network maps do not show which roads traffic in the area will be redirected onto and can be used as “through routes”. They have been done by residents to help everyone understand the impact of the project and so people can plan how to change the routes they take from July.

Roads that traffic will be diverted onto:

  • Albert Road
  • Barlow Road
  • Broom Lane 
  • Cromwell Grove 
  • Crossley Road
  • Grangethorpe Drive 
  • Hemmons Road
  • Kingsway 
  • Matthews Lane 
  • Moseley Road
  • Mount Road
  • Slade Lane (north of Albert Road)

See below for the maps. Further information on the July changes can be found HERE

Continue reading

Dramatic Road Changes From July 2020

Levenshulme and surrounding areas are about to experience major changes to our roads.

This is the first stage of the changes being imposed by the Levenshulme Bee Network Project. This is a new idea to create a “Filtered Neighbourhood” and to make walking and cycling easier by blocking off roads and restricting access for motorised vehicles. A whole host of other ideas are planned as well. This is just the start.

Travelling around Levenshulme and getting to and from the area will never be the same again.

12 June update

Please note that the information below was correct when it was posted. However, Levenshulme Bee Network has now changed the description on its website about the July 2020 changes. There is nothing on their website to indicate this has been changed.

Original text when the announcement was made:

“In the next few weeks we will be installing 29 temporary modal filters throughout the neighbourhood.

These will remain in place for a minimum of six months whilst we consult and tweak the filters with your feedback. They will then become permanent within 18 months.”

New text as of 12 June 2020:

“In the next few weeks we will be installing 29 temporary modal filters throughout the neighbourhood.

The trial will be undertaken using an experimental traffic regulation order which means that we can make changes following your feedback and monitor the impact for the first 6 months before the Council decides if the filters will be implemented on a permanent basis. All feedback from residents and monitoring of traffic, pedestrian and cycling levels as well as air quality levels will be considered before any of the filters are installed permanently.”

See below for details of the roads that will be affected, what will be done in July and maps including these changes.

Continue reading