‘We put up with a lot’: The Manchester suburb where people don’t feel safe in the street

People living in a south Manchester suburb say they no longer feel safe walking in the area because of ‘intimidating’ people drinking in the streets. Residents’ groups in Fallowfield say the problem has got worse since the pandemic, when some hotels were turned into homeless accommodation.

They warned councillors that it would be ‘disastrous’ if a petrol station located near two of these hotels was allowed to sell alcohol. Nevertheless, Manchester City Council gave the Shell garage on Wilmslow Road an alcohol licence last week.

Representatives of the Motor Fuel Group (MFG) which runs the garage, said the type of cheap alcohol that would attract ‘problem drinkers’ will not be sold. However, residents’ groups who objected to the application said the prospect of having another off-licence in this location fills them with ‘absolute horror’.

What have residents said about the problems with street drinking in Fallowfield?

Speaking on behalf of the Fallowfield Community Guardians at a town hall hearing, Sue Hare said street drinkers often gather by the garage and the nearby bus shelters, making it ‘really, really intimidating to catch a bus’. Cans and bottles are scattered around, she added, with broken glass ‘everywhere’.

One elderly man in his eighties who lives nearby had street drinkers sitting on his wall, throwing cans into his garden and urinating in it, she told councillors. And local litter pickers feel ‘vulnerable’ because they find ‘all sorts of horrible things’ in the streets, including knives, broken glass and condoms, she added.

She said: “I brought a family up in Fallowfield. My kids now say, ‘Don’t walk down that road, Mum, because there’s always someone off their head.’ We feel unsafe walking in the streets in the daytime because of these groups of people drinking alcohol.”

She added: “We are not wimps – we put up with a lot.”

Sue told councillors that the local community looks out for vulnerable people who are being housed in the area. But she said that people from other places are also congregating near the homeless accommodation located in the area.

Kattie Kincaid, another local resident, said she no longer feels safe walking to the post office because of the street drinkers nearby. She told the licensing panel that she now tends to drive to Didsbury because she cannot walk locally.

Speaking on behalf of the South East Fallowfield Residents’ Group, she said the area is now home to many people with ‘really complex needs’. She argued that the proximity of the petrol station to the Fallowfield Lodge and Ram Lodge – which both house the homeless – means it shouldn’t be allowed to sell alcohol.

She said: “If this was a more normal area, if it was in Didsbury, it might not pose the same problems that we have specifically where we are. I think there’s a really significant risk of making things worse for people who are housed here.”

What did councillors and the council say at the licensing meeting?

Labour councillor Chris Wills told the licensing sub-committee of his concerns about the impact that granting the licence would have on the community. The council’s principal licensing officer Fraser Swift also said that the premises’ licence application should be refused, citing the ‘state of concerns in the area.’

However, a council policy which prevented premises in the Fallowfield area from being granted this type of licence without ‘exceptional circumstances’ has now expired. Representing MFG, barrister Sarah Clover said that the garage would not become an outlet for problem drinkers – or students – because the products sold are more expensive than other stores nearby.

Responding to residents’ concerns about street drinkers buying alcohol from the garage, she said: “The idea that they would walk one minute less to buy something they don’t really want at a higher price is not a good argument.”

The panel approved the application, but limited the hours when alcohol can be sold to between 10am and 10pm, two hours later than had been requested. Extra conditions prohibiting the sale of miniature bottles of spirits and requiring spirits are covered up outside of licensed hours were also added.

A Manchester city council spokesperson said: “Where we receive complaints about street drinking we will always respond to them. Wherever possible this response includes support for anyone with alcohol-related issues who is carrying it out, to help address any underlying issues.”

Residents can report street drinking issues online through the council’s website.