Despite crime and pests becoming such a problem Manchester’s ‘worst estate’ was abandoned after 12 years, three acres of fields have reminded the city of what was once there
Birley Fields, Hulme.(Image: Manchester Evening News)
For 25 years, millions of motorists have zoomed along one of Manchester’s busiest roads completely unaware there’s a reminder of something the city would rather forget.
Close to the city centre, fields a stone’s throw from Princess Parkway have been vacant since the school for Hulme Crescents was pulled down in the late 1990s. Lush green grass next to a petrol station fills the space where Birley High School once served the thousands of families housed in the Crescents.
The Crescents — four huge U-shaped buildings with more than 3,000 flats — were supposed to offer communal, modern living for up to 13,000 people who were displaced by slum clearances across the city. Built in the late 1960s and early 1970s following a wave of post-war idealism, each apartment was connected by a concrete deck that was wide enough to allow a milk float through in a sign of the times.
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But as that idealism faded, the reality of the Crescents began to show. In 1974, two years after opening, Manchester council said the Crescents were no longer suitable for children as 96pc of tenants said they wanted to leave in a survey amid problems with crime, pests, and high heating bills.
The apartments were officially abandoned in 1984. By 1987, when this image was taken, squatters and gang had moved in and began graffitiing the concrete(Image: Getty Images)
By 1984, the town hall officially abandoned the Crescents and stopped charging rents. Squatters moved in and adapted the flats into nightclubs, recording studios, and artists’ spaces. Notable residents reportedly included The Stone Roses’ Ian Brown, The Smiths’ Mike Joyce, and film critic Mark Kermode.
Its existence as a post-industrial urban bohemia couldn’t last, though, and in 1993, ‘Europe’s worst estate’ was demolished. A new wave of development swept across Hulme, creating a new retail park, high street, and lower-rise flats.
But one spot never saw any love — three acres of grass called Birley Fields, off Greenheys Lane West. It’s been empty since the Birley High School, built for the Crescents’ kids, came down in 1999.
A pirate vessel waiting to be lit at the Hulme Festival to celebrate the demolition of the Crescents, which also included cars being pushed off its roof(Image: Mirrorpix)
The land was earmarked for commercial development which never came.
Its future looks brighter now, though. Manchester council announced on Thursday (March 19) it has signed a deal with property developer Glenbrook to build 293 flats on the site around a new park. And affordable homes ‘are at the heart’ of the project, council leader Bev Craig said.
Birley Fields, Hulme(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“The Birley Fields site has been an underused site for many years, so it’s great to see proposals emerging with the level of ambition and vision that is being developed,” she announced.
“Importantly, genuinely affordable homes – including social rent homes – are at the heart of this scheme, including quality green spaces and opportunities for the local community to come together. This approach has been guided by local people and it’s important that we continue to engage in the neighbourhood as the plans develop further.”
How 293 affordable homes on Birley Fields in Hulme might look(Image: Glenbrook)
Plans have yet to be finalised, but the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands Glenbrook will acquire the long-term lease for the land to make building possible. Its boss, Jamie Sutton, said: “The essence of Hulme is one of resilience and community spirit – a part of our city that has helped shape modern British music, design, and identity.
“As a developer, we are acutely aware of the responsibility we hold in delivering such an important scheme, one that provides considered architecture and public realm whilst responding to the needs of the wider community.”
A public consultation on the development is expected soon. If the project gets support and is built as anticipated, it will remove Manchester’s reminder of the estate it would rather forget.