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Five years ago this week, New Islington was in uproar.
More than 5,000 residents from the city centre neighbourhood next door to Ancoats signed a petition pleading with Manchester City Council to stop a developer’s bid to build offices on what many considered its heart, New Islington Green.
A patch of grass around the area’s tram stop, New Islington Green, was not a council park. It still isn’t.
What’s happening at New Islington Green?
A patch of grass near the tram stop
But its four acres of grass were, and are, popular with dog walkers, picnickers, and runners. So plans to build a campus of office blocks were met with fierce opposition.
Despite the 5,000 signatures, London-based General Projects’ plans were approved by the Manchester council in December 2020.
They were then able to go ahead with building five office blocks, built around the New Islington tram stop and tracks, either five or eight storeys tall. Those blocks would become home to small businesses and still provide two-and-a-half acres of green space for the public.
Residents hit back at developers
But residents hit back, pointing out they had four acres at the time. General Projects replied saying the new greenery would be ‘significantly better quality’.
You can find out more about General Projects by clicking here
The arrival of diggers for ‘investigatory works’ in September 2022 seemed like the usual expected prelude to wholesale redevelopment beginning.
However, work never got going in earnest, as a huge redesign in late 2023 delayed construction.
New Islington tram stop
More public amenities like cafes and shops were promised in the overhaul, as was a major aesthetic change: Steel and glass were out, being replaced by brick-style cladding so the five offices would blend in with nearby Victorian mills.
Developers said they expected work on the revised project to begin at some point in 2024.
But if you go to New Islington Green today, you won’t find any offices. Or a building site.
Work has still not started, as the revised project is yet to receive planning permission, more than 18 months after it was submitted.
General Projects submitted new designs to the Manchester council three months ago, and a public consultation closed at the end of August. The decision has been with the council for a matter of weeks.
There is still opposition in New Islington to the scheme. Nikki Christie, 34, was one of the original petition signers and hasn’t changed her opinion.
Opposition to building on Islington Green
“I enjoy the green space because I have a dog. It’s nice to have,” she told I Love Manchester on Monday (6th October), five years and one day after the first plans were submitted.
“There’s always construction around here, so it’s a bit much [to have more]. More offices would not be a positive thing for me.”
“It’s the only bit of green space I have.”
A more recent arrival, 20-year-old Adam Clark, also said he ‘would rather it was somewhere else’
Caitlin Townend, who’s called the area home for four years, added she “probably does not want them to start building because it’s the only bit of green space I have”.
Green space, New Islington
Even though residents have had their wish so far, there’s been a cost with the delays, 27-year-old Caitlin added.
She explained: “It was cornered off because they were going to start, so we could not use all the space over the summer.
“Then people were not using it. There was confusion over what was happening.”
“It feels like we’re in limbo, I guess.”
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