'It’s going to be a s***hole' - The Manchester suburb worried about becoming the new Ancoats

It’s all part of the £4 billion Victoria North development, which will add 35,000 residents to the city’s population with 15,000 new homes. It covers a 155-hectare tract of land from city centre Angel Meadow at its southern tip, to Queens Road in the north.

Victoria North is divided into seven neighbourhoods, including Collyhurst Village and South Collyhurst. Developers are constructing 274 homes across those neighbourhoods. In Collyhurst Village, 100 homes will be social housing. In South Collyhurst, another 30 will be social housing. However, 29 existing homes will be demolished. Affordable housing campaigners, Greater Manchester Tenants Union, has organised a series of protests over the proposed demolitions.

“I don’t think people around here are going to stand for it any longer,” said long-term resident Gaynor Hutton after one protest. “Enough is enough. We need refurbishment, not demolition.”

A key Victoria North selling point is ‘everyone will be offered the opportunity to stay’, according to project director Tom Fenton, and the council has promised a ‘single move policy’ to minimise residents’ disruption. “This is only the start for Collyhurst,” said Gavin White, Manchester’s executive councillor for housing, hinting at more regeneration plans in the future. 

He said up to 2,500 new homes could be coming to the area in future, including affordable housing, shops, education and medical facilities, and a proposed new tram stop at Sandhills. But mistrust around Victoria North has been prevalent in Collyhurst. It’s been let down before.

Collyhurst was built following slum clearances, laid out to suit car travel. A 2012 regeneration plan was cancelled at the eleventh hour when the Private Finance Initiative was pulled. 

Now, with new and existing residents set to receive keys to their new Collyhurst homes, the LDRS spent two days in the suburb’s only café to see how the residents who define this area feel about the change.

It’s mid-September and the leaves are starting to golden around Kylie’s Kitchen, on Southchurch Parade. Owner Kylie Ferguson is setting up for another day serving ‘council estate people’ — who are ‘the best’, she beams — homely food at reasonable prices.

One of her first customers is Stephen Green, 76. He was raised in Ardwick, now lives in Broughton, but comes to Kylie’s ‘three or four times’ a week because he likes the atmosphere and food.

His Collyhurst visits only became regular this year, starting after many years when he didn’t come over. The area ‘changed a lot’ in that time, he believes, but ‘everything changes’. “Your neighbours change. Your living conditions change,” he says. “It’s always a good thing to build. People are always on housing lists for rented properties, or want to buy if they can.”

After Stephen polishes off his breakfast, a group of contractors come in for elevenses and banter with City fans. Then, ‘Ancoats lad’ Alan Pickering arrives. He agrees development is a ‘good thing’, but he’s wary the Collyhurst community might be broken up: “I think it’s a good thing. The area needs upping a bit. [Ancoats’ redevelopment] was for the better, but people being pushed out has been going on for a good few years now.”

Not everyone thinks it’s a good thing, though.

“It’s going to be a s***hole,” derides Pat Hegarty, 67. He’s just moved back to Collyhurst after 20 years in Salford. His six-year-old dog, Valentina, is happily exploring the cafe’s forecourt.

When asked why he holds this view, he replies: “The people don’t respect the area. I have just moved back, I last lived here in the 90s. It’s not got any better.   The council is not doing anything. There’s settees and bags of crap and bottles everywhere. It could be a nice area if people looked after it.”

In response, a council spokesperson said it’s made a strong commitment to tackling issues around waste and fly-tipping in the area and has just secured additional funding to tackle the problem.

Kylie’s dad, Rob Ferguson, also thinks Collyhurst isn’t what it was. The 66-year-old explains: “I have seen a lot come and go here. There was the Irish Palladium Club, which became the punk club. Elvis Costello, The Damned, and The Clash all started there. We had a Collyhurst Lads Club that brought out champion boxers like Michael Brodie and Anthony Crolla. There’s no social life anymore… they took the pubs away. Everything’s shut.”

He ‘cannot say’ if Victoria North will benefit Collyhurst. But like Alan, he’s wary: “The way it’s going, they are putting in private housing. And when they say affordable, what do they mean? What about people in council houses that cannot to afford to buy?”

Dave Smith, 60, who’s lived in Ancoats’ Victoria Square for 18 years, also worries how ‘affordable’ new homes will be. “It’s something for incomers that cannot afford Ancoats,” he says. 

But he also believes redevelopment was ‘definitely needed  in Ancoats and Collyhurst’, because ‘it was a wasteland’.

“It was desolate when I moved in but it’s good for those who can afford it,” he goes on. “But not many people can afford it. Everyone is trying to get in Ancoats. They have no more building room, so they have to spread out and come up to here and Miles Platting.”

Dave’s position reflects a set-in view in Collyhurst. Victoria North might give the suburb the spark it needs, but those who’ve endured the hardest times here are wary who will benefit.

Manchester’s executive councillor for housing and development, Gavin White, said:  “For me, Collyhurst is one of the most exciting regeneration programmes we currently have on-site in the city. Part of the transformational Victoria North project, which will deliver 15,000 new homes in the next decade, Collyhurst forms the first part of the major piece of investment – and that is a statement of intent to local people that we have made a long-term commitment to improving their neighbourhood, delivering new homes, green spaces and vital services for  their community.

“The first phase of 274 new homes – which includes 130 council homes for social rent – are well into the construction phase, and the first council properties will be completed ready to welcome the first tenants in the New Year. The remaining homes will be completed in stages by 2026, along with a new community park.

“But this is only the start for Collyhurst. We are currently developing an ambitious investment plan for the coming years in close collaboration with local people. That conversation has been going on with residents since last year – and current modelling suggest the area could welcome up to 2,500 new homes, including significant new affordable housing, new shops, education and medical facilities, and a proposed new tram stop at Sandhills.

“This conversation and engagement with the existing community will continue and no firm decisions have yet been made about the future regeneration of the neighbourhood – and proposals will also be subject to further extensive public consultation. What is clear is that we have a shared vision to make sure that Collyhurst is a neighbourhood that all residents, existing and new, can be proud of, with great housing options, new green spaces and the local services nearby that our residents need.

“And we have also made a commitment to supporting the existing community of residents to remain in Collyhurst. No one will be asked to leave the area if they don’t want to.  A key part of this programme is working with the community to retain existing residents as a core community and welcome new residents to join them as new housing is built.”