Save Hough End Fields: why residents are still opposed to plans for 3G sport pitches on the green space

Manchester City Council has changed its original proposal for the popular open space but there is still opposition to what the town hall intends to build.
Residents at a protest organised by the Save Hough End Fields campaignResidents at a protest organised by the Save Hough End Fields campaign
Residents at a protest organised by the Save Hough End Fields campaign

The dispute between residents and Manchester City Council over redevelopment plans for the Hough End Playing Fields green space shows no sign of coming to an end.

The town hall has revised its plans for the south Manchester open space and says it has adapted its ideas for the site after consulting with local people earlier this year.

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The campaign group Save Hough End Fields carried out a survey earlier this year to gauge opinion on the proposals.

And though some of the unpopular ideas have now been dropped, the results suggest there is still considerable local opposition to what remains in the council’s plans.

What are the plans to redevelop Hough End Playing Fields?

Hough End Playing Fields is the largest open green space in the city and is extensively used by the community for leisure and recreation as well as by sports clubs.

A 10-year draft strategy sets out a vision for a mixture of artificial and grass pitches, non-turf cricket wickets, new educational and leisure facilities along with a new cafe at Hough End Leisure Centre, pitches to play Gaelic sports and a model aircraft zone.

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The document describes the current sports pitches and changing facilities as “poor” and says it wants to develop a higher-quality place to play sport as well as keeping an attractive public space for people to enjoy walking and relaxation.

A dramatic sunset over the sports pitches at Hough End FieldsA dramatic sunset over the sports pitches at Hough End Fields
A dramatic sunset over the sports pitches at Hough End Fields

The 10-year strategy also includes work at Chorlton High School South, improvements to Broughton Park Rugby Club’s facilities and a community natural open space zone.

A pre-application planning consultation on the revised proposals for the fields closed on Friday 10 December.

The town hall now has to look through all the feedback before making a decision on proceeding with a new planning application.

What is the Save Hough End Fields campaign group and what are its objections?

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Save Hough End Fields was set up earlier this year and is made up of residents who oppose the council’s plans to redevelop the site.

Before the council withdrew its original plans in July, a petition against them had some 2,500 signatures on it, while around 2,000 people responded to the planning consultation.

In summer the group carried out a survey of more than 200 people asking for their views on the local authority’s redevelopment ideas.

Residents at a protest organised by the Save Hough End Fields campaignResidents at a protest organised by the Save Hough End Fields campaign
Residents at a protest organised by the Save Hough End Fields campaign

Some of the extremely unpopular proposals, such as a softball and baseball complex which attracted 85% opposition among the survey’s respondents, have now been dropped.

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However, 80% opposed the artificial football pitches, 83% are against the creation of a car park with more than 150 spaces and 91% do not like the removal of trees in the scheme.

Only 11% of respondents said they used the fields for organised sports, with the most popular activities among the survey’s respondents including walking, birdwatching and simply enjoying time in nature.

The group said that for those it spoke to the most popular reasons for valuing the site were the peaceful nature of the outdoor space for relaxation (88%), experiencing wildlife and the natural environment (76%) and seeing the open skyline and the sunrises and sunsets (63%).

What has the campaign group said about the survey?

The group has said it supports the council’s overall aims of promoting healthy and active lifestyles, but does not agree with it than the plans for Hough End Playing Fields are the right way of going about it.

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Ali Abbas of Save Hough End Fields said: “The results of this survey show the importance of Hough End fields to communities across south Manchester, and not just for the sports teams who play there.

“It’s clear that having this unique open space to take some exercise, to meet up with friends or just to enjoy nature plays a vital role in supporting people’s mental and physical well-being, even more so during the pandemic with restricted access to sports and leisure facilities.

Residents protesting against plans to redevelop Hough End FieldsResidents protesting against plans to redevelop Hough End Fields
Residents protesting against plans to redevelop Hough End Fields

“So it comes as no surprise that there’s such strong opposition to the proposals to replace open grass pitches with fenced-off artificial turf pitches and additional car parking, and in particular to the felling of trees and loss of wildlife habitats.”

Peter Lythgoe of Save Hough End Fields added: “We support the council’s stated aim of getting more children active. But in a climate and nature emergency, it’s totally irresponsible to do this by replacing grass and trees with plastic and concrete, and by encouraging more car journeys that will increase carbon emissions and air pollution.

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“For the sake of our children’s health and our planet’s life support systems, we call on the council to withdraw its misguided plans and protect our precious green space.”

What has Manchester City Council said?

A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: “The proposals to improve facilities at Hough End Playing Fields aims to put the community at its heart with the intention of creating sustainable, high-quality playing fields and open spaces that promote people’s health, happiness and wellbeing.

“We have listened carefully to the input from the campaign group and we understand the concerns they have raised. The new proposals - around which the latest consultation ended last Friday - ensure sustainability is a central part of the project and has been designed to be low carbon standards, as a priority of the council.

“We are placing nature-based solutions at the forefront of the design approach. For example, the 3G pitches will be designed to provide a Cork Infill System. This will be the first natural infill solution that will be brought forward by the FA via the Football Foundations Framework nationally.

Hough End FieldsHough End Fields
Hough End Fields
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“As a natural product, granulated cork is a renewable raw material derived from the bark of cork oak from sustainably managed sources.

“And we have reduced the footprint of the overall development - following feedback from the community - to limit the impact on the wider green space.

“We have received a lot of positive feedback from local schools and teams that are excited to start using the site for educational and sporting purposes. At the moment, many local teams and schools do not have adequate facilities for school sports, training and sporting activities, with the new proposals they will be able to use the pitches daily and will not need to travel outside of the area to access appropriate facilities.

“The latest proposals have looked to carefully balance the feedback and concerns from the campaigners, while also investing in much needed and improved facilities at Hough End.

“We think we have maintained this balance and we thank everyone who has taken part in the various consultations so far.”