Do you have a particular interest in campaigning for the Community / Unity Garden and protecting the public space the council want to sell off ? We need more help! - the council will let us buy OUR land back for £100,000 for the project, we need more ideas and help to preserve this as a public space. If you have any ideas or experience please contact Jamie through:levenshulmecampaign@googlemail.com



We spent the afternoon at chapel street school with a model of how the garden could look, some pictures and the documents. It was well received and there is still wide support for the idea of the Peace Garden. “we don’t want flats there..” People took away slips of paper to write their letters of support. Our contact at the school (who contacted us through the FoL website) thinks it’s a brilliant idea and can see the potential for the schools involvement. + she really wants to get the school council involved to help with the campaign for it. We left the Peace Garden document with the Head with a covering letter asking for their support and gave some ideas of how they might get involved. We also met the dept. Head of Levenshulme High school who was also interested and left her details. We are holding a similar stall at the Family Day at St. Mary’s on Sunday to promote the garden further.


Picnic in the Park Event:
The Garden Model - friends start thinking about how the garden could look


On 16/07/07 a letter and document (+email to make sure) was sent to Sir Richard Leese and local councillors to make a formal request that Manchester City Council actively support us in creating a Peace Garden at the site of the old community centre on Chapel Street by taking a decision to preserve the land as a community asset for the people of Levenshulme.

His reply on 24/07/07:

I have now had the opportunity to look into the background to this proposal including the discussion that took place at the Council's Community Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Committee in September last year . Last week I also came to have a look at the site . I agree with your description of the Stockport Road end of Chapel Street , not helped by the road being closed off , and the Council does have a city-wide aspiration for a greener feel particularly through increasing the amount of tree cover .

However , having looked at the site , I would take some convincing that it is a good location for your proposed use . Notwithstanding that , I expect that one of the recommendations likely to come out of the South Manchester Strategic Regeneration Framework [ SRF ] when it is finalised in October will be for the development of a specific Levenshulme District Centre local plan . On that basis , I am willing to ask Council officers to take no action to dispose of the site so that its future can be considered within the context of that overall District Centre Plan,

Best wishes ,

Richard Leese .



Our Responses 30/07/07:


Dear Councillor Leese
Re: Friends of Levenshulme Peace Garden

Thanks for your quick email response to the proposal for the Peace Garden and commitment to ‘No Action’ to dispose of the former community centre site.

However, ‘No Action’ appears to be a running theme in Levenshulme. You will have seen on your visit to Levenshulme the very poor environment at the end of Chapel Street and lack of any progress at the St. Mary’s site. Local people are very angry, but ready to take on regeneration work themselves.

We are pleased to see that this has at least been recognised in the MCC Draft Levenshulme Ward Plan 2007-10:

The area is threatened by the lack of action taken by the City Council over the renewal of Levenshulme’s community centre and other venues in the ward which have rapidly declined because of lack of investment over a number of years.

Major sites awaiting appropriate planning applications (Elbow Street, Palace Nightclub, ex-Somerfield building) are threatening the vitality of the District Centre. Their current status is causing a negative impact on the surrounding environment and lack of vitality to the District Centre.

A positive regeneration impact in what is a very poor quality public space is needed to begin as soon as possible. Local people are positive about the area in which they live and are ready and willing to get the job started now. This includes the two immediately neighbouring residents associations. Why do we have to wait and let the neglect continue?

Your response ignores the crucial support of local people with the event in May and the involvement of members of the Asian community working together to try and achieve a sense of belonging not only in relation to the garden but to Levenshulme.

The focus on social cohesion with this project and encouragement so far could give the diverse ethnic communities the opportunity to release their missing contribution by creating a garden that has visible features which recognise multi-cultural presence in Levenshulme, Manchester and the UK.

Your response also ignores the fact that this project is not the goal of one person or company, but a grass roots idea taken from local people gathering and discussing what they would like to see from regeneration. This is positive. Isn’t it?

The land is currently standing idle as waste ground, as are many other sites awaiting development in Levenshulme. This pattern of neglect and lack of respect for the immediate residents is a theme we cannot accept anymore. We want action. We are fed up of delaying tactics which ultimately leave us living among rubble and decay.

Local people are quite clear that they do not want more housing developed on that space. We want improvement of public space and better community facilities.

It is not fair to sell the land or expect a neighbourhood group to effectively buy the land from the council when local people are prepared to develop it and take responsibility for it as a community asset. We are already discussing the garden proposal at the Levenshulme Ward Co-ordination meeting this Thursday 2nd and welcome any further discussion with the City Council to progress the idea.

Yours Sincerely
Jamie Summers
Friends of Levenshulme / Delamere Neighbourhood Group






Dear Sir Howard,

You wrote on 23rd July 2007 to Sir Gerald Kaufman in response to his letter of 11th July about the proposal for a Peace Garden on the site of the former Levenshulme Community Centre. I am responding directly to you, and copying my letter to Sir Gerald.

Essentially you make two points against the proposal. Firstly, you describe the intention of the local authority to generate the maximum capital receipt from sale of the site unless, with the sponsorship of an ‘operational division’, or by raising independent resources, the local community can generate the equivalent of that open market value. Secondly, you refer to a preference for ‘quality housing’ on the site.

The proposal for the site as a Peace Garden, submitted by Mr Summers and myself, made a positive case for the development of the site as a community asset, and your response appears simply to ignore that case. There are three essential points I want to address to you.

Firstly, the foundation of our case is that the Chapel Street/Gordon Avenue site is in a locality with pressing need for regeneration. We argue that the Peace Garden can act as a focus for regeneration of the Chapel Street axis. We also described its spatial relationship to other green spaces in Levenshulme, and the potential to link them (our concept of ‘green veins’).

Secondly, the Peace Garden proposal has support from diverse local interests and communities. An informal event on the site on 7th May 2007 attracted over 100 local people and gained significant publicity, including coverage in the Manchester Evening News and the BBC website. The two directly adjacent residents’ associations – the Cromwell Grove & Chapel Street Residents’ Association and the Delamere Neighbourhood Group – support the garden proposal. The committee of the Madina Mosque in Barlow Road supports the proposal, a meeting to develop the idea was hosted by the mosque on 10th June, and the secretary of the mosque is a member of our planning group. More recently I understand that the Levenshulme Labour party has passed a resolution of support for the proposal.

Thirdly, we are aware of the large-scale development proposals for the adjacent St. Mary’s site. Far from enclosing the former Community Centre site within this wider development, and building additional housing, there is a very clear case for a complementary development of the site as a public, green space. It shows a terrible poverty of ambition to ignore this potential. Local people have already demonstrated, by their voluntary action, a will to engage in developing and maintaining the site as a community asset in one of the poorest parts of Levenshulme. The City Council’s response focuses on the potential capital receipt from sale of the site. We anticipated this in our proposal, and made the counter case for preserving the site as a community asset. Your response does not address this point.

As you know, the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has now responded positively to the Quirk Report on barriers and incentives for transferring public assets to community management and ownership. The DCLG response refers to providing more expert advice and organisational development support for transfer and management of land by local communities. It encourages ‘bottom up mechanisms’ to promote the asset transfers. This is completely contrary to the way we are being treated.

Our specific case has been ignored in your response. It seems to me that the terms of your reply are, at the very least, against the spirit of government policy. Our proposal is precisely intended to promote regeneration, community cohesion, and voluntary action. Your letter shows a total disregard for all of this.

What more do we need to do to secure a proper hearing for our proposals?

Yours sincerely,

David Mottram
Friends of Levenshulme / Acting Secretary, Levenshulme Community Association



Richard Leese Response: Wed 15th Aug 07...

Dear Jamie ,

thanks for your message . I have been away on holiday for two weeks and this is my first day back in the office hence the delayed reply . I can always sympathise with the frustration of active residents committed to improving their local area who just want to get on with it , but previous experience suggests that that is not the way to achieve long-term sustainable renewal . We need a coherent 10/15 year plan for Levenshulme district centre , encompassing the part in Gorton South ward as well as that within Levenshulme ward , and that should be a priority for the next stage of work after the completion of the South Manchester SRF . That doesn't mean doing nothing in the interim as there is much that can be done to better manage the district centre but it does mean as far as possible avoiding premature decisions that might subsequently undermine or block regeneration . Yes I do agree that the Chapel Street area needs one hell of a facelift , but that does need to be planned as part of the bigger picture .. I hope that you and the other active residents you are working with will continue to be part of this process and whilst I'm sure we won't agree on everything that ultimately we have a district centre plan that we can all work together to deliver ,

Best wishes ,

Richard Leese




*********************************************

His reply on 16/07/07:

Thanks for your e-mail and details of your proposal for the former community centre site .
I will make enquiries of relevant officers and come back to you
Yours sincerely,
Richard Leese.

other replies: 17/07/07:


THANKYOU FOR THE INFORMATION, THE PROPOSAL certainly looks to have been well thought through and manageable and would be of great benefit to the local community, as you know I have already approached officers of the council with regard to the principle of the land use and I am waiting a response to give a commitment that the land will not be sold for development, when I have further news I will be in touch.
regards,
Keith Whitmore

Thankyou for your letter dated 15th July with regard to the proposal for a Peace Garden. This sounds like an extremely attractive possibility, and I shall certainly write to the council letting them know of my support. I shall be in touch with you again as soon as I have any news.
Yours sincerely
Gerald Kaufman

11/07/07:

Well Done you seemed to have covered all areas. Please keep me updated Kind Regards Janet



See minutes from the meeting at Barlow Rd Mosque 10th June 2007

See Press Cutting 15th June 2007

See Peace Garden document

Link to Asian News

Help with design ideas for the 'Peace/ Unity Garden' at the site of the old community centre. Have a look at the photos of the site as it is now - and think how it could be...



Here are some themes that have been metioned in the meetings and a mood board to get you going: PEACE/ UNITY / BEAUTY / QUIET / CONTEMPLATION / REFLECTION / ISLAMIC INFLUENCE / MOSAIC / EAST WEST / SMALL PROJECTS FOR CHILDREN / ADULT / TODDLER FRIENDLY SPACE / LOCAL BUSINESS SUPPORT ? SPONSORSHIP / DIVERSITY

The site measures basically 20m x 42m. A hard surface area exists to the left (aerial view) of the site of about 15m wide. You might want to consider flexibility in the design for the building of a new community centre with-in the garden. (The hard surfaced area could be kept with planters used instead as a temporary garden)

Some Inspiration: http://www.goring-by-sea.uk.com/palatine/index.htm Naqib has sent us some photos of Mughul gardens - there's some great shapes: (the pavillions are just like the wood work above the doors on our terrace houses)