{"id":540310,"date":"2025-10-31T17:51:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T17:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/540310\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T17:51:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T17:51:16","slug":"the-manchester-city-centre-shortcut-that-nobody-will-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/540310\/","title":{"rendered":"The Manchester city centre shortcut that nobody will take"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘Careful, they\u2019re smoking crack’<\/p>\n

17:15, 31 Oct 2025Updated 17:23, 31 Oct 2025<\/p>\n

It should be a handy cut-through to town – but many avoid the area(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

As a group of councillors headed towards Cambridge Street underpass earlier this week, a pedestrian shouted a warning: \u201cThey\u2019re smoking crack, be careful.”<\/p>\n

Right underneath Mancunian Way, this expanse of grass, trees, and concrete, is the fastest way from Hulme<\/a> to the city centre.<\/p>\n

But it also feels like it\u2019s the most dangerous.<\/p>\n

CCTV blindspots, streetlighting blocked out by branches, and the roar of traffic all make this oasis of greenery feel like one of the last places you\u2019d walk through in Manchester, let alone linger.<\/p>\n

Join the Manchester Evening News <\/strong>WhatsApp<\/strong> group <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

Its reputation for danger was only worsened by a string of horrific sex attacks carried out by Robert Emmerson<\/a> from November 2023 to April 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attacker would lie in wait on the path,\u201d prosecutor Emma Kehoe said during his trial a year ago.<\/p>\n

The Manchester Crown Court<\/a> trial heard Emmerson was \u2018laughing\u2019, \u2018smiling\u2019, and \u2018making noises to suggest he was enjoying himself\u2019 as his victims screamed while he \u2018pinned them down\u2019 or \u2018lifted them up\u2019 and touched them sexually.<\/p>\n

Emmerson, now 41, of Thirlmere Avenue, Stretford<\/a>, was ultimately jailed for seven years.<\/p>\n

Emmerson was jailed for seven years(Image: GMP)<\/p>\n

Now, there\u2019s a move to improve the area. There are long-term plans for the underpass \u2014 but for now, councillors have secured thousands to improve it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have \u00a380,000 all in. That\u2019s for the lights, to make the graffiti look better, and extra cleaning,\u201d said Lee-Ann Igbon, executive councillor for vibrant neighbourhoods, who also represents Hulme which contains the southern half of the underpass.<\/p>\n

The underpass can feel dangerous, even during the daytime, with the woman pictured in near-darkness at lunchtime on Wednesday (October 29)(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Visiting the underpass on Wednesday (October 29), she added: \u201cBelieve it or not, vehicles help with light from the headlights.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the long-term, Coun Igbon and Coun Anthony McCaul, who represents the Deansgate<\/a> ward, containing the other half of the underpass, want to see it become a park people use, complete with sport facilities.<\/p>\n

Coun Igbon went on: \u201cResidents feel safer [in the Loxford estate next door] but there\u2019s nothing good here.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how do we look at their well-being and health? Can we activate it so people come here and do Thai Chi, for example?<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not think we promote it enough. I think we add to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s out of the question is levelling the area due to the amount of mature trees, Coun McCaul, deputy executive councillor for environment, added: \u201cThere\u2019s more tree cover here than the rest of my ward.<\/p>\n

Coun Anthony McCaul and Coun Lee-Ann Igbon are spear-heading the drive to improve the area(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s lots of grass. It\u2019s bigger than Parsonage Gardens.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not peaceful, [but] it could be a shelter during a heatwave. It needs to be activated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new lighting is due to be completed in early 2027, the pair said, with longer-term plans expected to be released in 18 months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘Careful, they\u2019re smoking crack’ 17:15, 31 Oct 2025Updated 17:23, 31 Oct 2025 It should be a handy cut-through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,31073,2465,8086,8828,33995,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-540310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-hulme","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-manchester-city-centre","14":"tag-manchester-council","15":"tag-mancunian-way-a635m","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115470055250631194","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}