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Presentatmee*ng(whichwasinvita*ononlyatrequestofManchesterCityCouncil):
RionneAvis,NadineAndrews,JennyTrigg-localresidents
RichardSharland,ManchesterCityCouncil
EamonnORourke,ManchesterCityCouncil
EddieFlanagan,ManchesterCityCouncil
EuniceLong,ManchesterCityCouncil
SaraHilton,HeadofHeritageLoeryFundNW
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Thethreeofusheretodayaresomeofthepeoplewhohaveconcerns.Another10
localpeoplehavecontributedtodevelopingthispresenta*on,inclprofessional
arboriculturalistandanecologist.
Manypeopleques*onedthera*onaleforwildlifehabitatdestruc*oninour
community,sincefirstfindingoutthescaleofdestruc*onattheOpenDayinMarch
2011,andhaveneverreceivedaproperresponse.
Todateover1600havesignedthee-pe**on
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Weobjecttotheunnecessarydestruc*onofwildlifehabitatsthatwillhappenaspart
oftheseplans,thatwillonlypar*allybecompensatedfor.Onceamaturehabitatis
destroyed,ittakesdecadesfornewplan*ngtoreachthatsamestageofsuppor*ngdiversewildlife.
InacontextwheretheUKissufferinglossofspeciesatarateneverexperienced
beforeinhistory.Scien*stsagreewe'reexperiencingthe6thmajorex*nc*onof
species-youhavetogoback65myearsforthelastone,whenthedinosaurs
disappeared.WearetodaylosingHouseSparrowsatanaverageof50perHOUR.
Theyareontheredlistforconserva*on.AndwehaveHouseSparrowsinthepark-
weshouldbeproudofthatandseekingtoprotectandsupportthatpopula*onto
grow.NotputthemandmanyotherprotectedandBAPspeciesunderthreatby
destroyingtheirhabitat.
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Firecrestsigh*ngsinpastweekhavetwitchersgengveryexcited(Firecreston
Amberlistforconserva*on).OneguycameallthewayfromDurham.
Alexparkisanecotourismdes*na*on!
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Safeguardingournaturalheritageisextremelyimportant,asHLFrecognise,especially
inahighlyurbanenvironment
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MCCsurveyshowsimportanceofnaturetolocalpeople-theywantmorenature,
notless.The1600+peoplewhosignede-pe**onagree.
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Thecouncilalsohaslegaldutytoconservebiodiversity[7]NERCAct2006Yetunder
theseplans,biodiversityisonlypar*allycompensatedfor.Itshouldbefully
compensatedfor-indeedfurtherenhanced.
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ThattheparkisalocalBAPhabitatsuppor*ngBAPspecies-thesefeatureswere
iden*fiedasconstraintsbytheconsultantecologistsemployedbyMCCyetthese
constraintsdon'tappeartohavebeentakenseriously.SowhydidMCCselect'no'tothisques*oninthePlanningApplica*on?
Clearlackofintegra*onofbiodiversityintoprojectfromoutsetledtoGMEUrequest
toPlanningtoincludecondi*onforBiodiversityMasterPlantobesubmiedpriorto
commencementofworks.Notreefellingshouldoccurun*lthisBiodiversityMaster
PlanhasbeenapprovedbyGMEU.
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GMisamongstleastwoodedcoun*esinEngland(7.7%comparedto10%na*onal
average)accordingtoWoodlandTrust.
MCCGreenCitytargetfor10%moretreesperdevelopment.Currentplansfor
renova*onaredecreasingnotincreasingcover(approx-30%+takingintoaccount
poten*allossthroughhighthreatdiseasesandtreesclassedasvegeta*onclassed)
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NotjustonGreenCitytargets,theplansarecontrarytootherMCCpolicytoo,andon
GreenInfrastructurepolicy,whichwe'llreturntolater.
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FRAMINGWIDERCONTEXT
Alreadytalkedaboutbiodiversityloss.
Psychology
Nownotonlyaretheplansverybadnewsfortheprotectedandpriorityspeciesthat
liveinthepark,psychologicalresearchprovesthatlossofnatureisbadforustoo-for
ourhealthandSWB.
Peoplehavenotjustabiologicalbutalsoapsychologicalbondwithnature.
Psychologistsareprovingthroughempiricalresearchthatwhathappenstonature
affectsusonadeeppsychologicallevel,whetherweareconsciouslyawareofitor
not.Peoplewhofeelalienatedfromnaturesuffergreatermentalill-healthandhavea
significantlylowerSWB.Withregardtochildren,thereareevenaemptsto
medicalisethisaliena*onas'naturedeficitsyndrome'.
Awarethatsomepar*eshavecharacterisedpeoplewho'veraisedconcernsas
irra*onalandextreme,astree-huggers.Cungtreesisanemo*veissue.Ofcourseit
is,Itsthehumancondi*ontobeemo*onallybondedtonature,andthereis
somethingspecialabouttrees-theyaretheonlyotherlifeforminthecitythatlives
longerthanwedo.Oncea100yrold,200yroldtreeisfelled,thatisit-itsgone
forever.
Dismissingpeople'sconcernsbecauseoftheemo*ontheyfeelisnotonly
disrespeculitsalsomisguided.Apassionforprotec*ngandencouragingwildlifeandbiodiversityintheparkshouldberecognisedforwhatitis:apsychologicallyhealthy
humanresponse.Itsactuallythepeoplewhodon'tcareaboutnatureandare
alienatedfromitthathaveamaladap*veresponse.Youcanseejusthowimportant
natureistopeoplebyreadingthecommentsonthee-pe**on.
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OurvisionforAlexParkisforittobeaninterna*onalexemplarof21stcurbanpark
design-meaningthedesignisusercentred(userisbothhumanandnonhuman),
ecologicalanddemocra*cinbothprocessandproduct,thatenablespeopletoconnectwitheachotherandwithnature
Victoriandesign
Dominantthemeisorderandcontrol:controlofnature,controlofpeopleas
expressedtheoriginalstatedinten*onoftheparkto"promoteasimplemorale
purpose-tokeepfamiliestogetherinsharedrecrea6on.Thereality,however,was
probablymoremundane-todissuademenfromspendingtheirdayofrestin
alehouses."[hp://www.manchester2002-uk.com]
AlexandraParkwasbuilt(1870)inasocio-economiccontextofrapidlyexpanding
industrialgrowthandimperialpower.Thesevaluesarereflectedinthedesignoftheperiod.Roman*cismwasover,theArts
&CrasMovementjustabouttostart.Theydidn'thaveanunderstandingofecology
inthewaywedonow,abouttherela*onshipbetweenthepartsofasystem,how
theyimpacteachotherandthesystemasawhole.
Wearefacinganecologicalcrisisofamagnitudethatcouldnothavebeenimagined
inVictorian*mes.Simpleinconceivable.ThereforesomeaspectsofVictoriandesign
simplyarenotfirforpurposein21stcentury.
21stcenturyurbanparkdesignInfluencedbycomplexitytheory-acceptcan'tcontrolnature.Itsaboutworkingwith
nature.
Thisisexactlythekindofprogressiveinnova*vethinkingforwhichmcrlikestothink
isitssignature-originalmodern.
Foraprojectwithmillionsofpoundsonthetable,that'swhatthisshould'vebeen.
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Talkingofdemocra*cdesign,whatlegalandmoralrightsdowehaveasci*zens,local
residents,counciltaxpayersandparkuserstobeinvolvedindecision-making
process,andhaveinfluenceoverthingsthataffecttheirlives?Itsourpublicpark,welivehereandweuseit.
MCCstatedaimtoimprovepar*cipatorydemocracy.
Don'tknowwhatdic*onaryyouuse,butyourdefini*onofconsulta*onisn'tonethat
wouldbeacceptedinaJudicialReview.
Legalprecedence:ifyou'regoingtodoconsulta*onthenitmustbeproper.Which
means,whenprojectinforma*vestage(i.e.priortoOct2010whenplansproduced),
mustgivesufficientinforma*on(accesstoallrelevantdocuments,understandable-
useofkeys,reasonsfordecisions)andhavefairprocess.
Wehavebeeninformedbylegalexpertsthatwehavestronggroundsforreques*nga
judicialreview[putupflipchartsheet]
dueto
-breachofstatutorydutytoconsultmembersofthepublic(publiclaw)
-ignoringrelevantconsidera*ons(climatechange,biodiversity,PlanningPolicy
Statement)
-unfairnessintheprocess
-legi*mateexpecta*ons(wildlifepanelthatnevermaterialised)
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MCCwebsitepagesforAlexParkrenova*ondonotincludeimportantdocuments
suchas115_E_SolandscapeRemovalandRemedia*onshowingallthetreesdueto
beremovedandshrubareastobecleared.Nolinktoportalwith81documents.
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Listofconsulta*on-butall'consulta*on'aerOct2010whenplanswereproduced
couldbeargueddoesntcountasproperconsulta*on,asisnotwhilstprojectwasin
forma*vestage(intermsoflegalprecedencedefini*onofconsulta*oninjudicialreview).
Weknowfromourownexperiencethatsufficientinforma*onhasnotgiven.
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Thesecommentsshowthatpeoplearenotawareofthedetailoftheplans
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Thisiswhatourexperiencehasbeenlike..!
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WhatIandmanyothersreallywantisatotalrethinkoftheen*reproject,fromthe
perspec*veofuser-centredecologicalanddemocra*cdesign.
Butitseemsthatatotalrethinkoftheen*reprojectmaynotbepossible.Thisisarealshame,amassivemissedopportunityforcrea*ngatrulyexci*ngdesignof
interna*onalstandard.
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Ifthisisindeedthesitua*on,thenwewouldhavetoreluctantlyreduceourvision,
shrinkouraspira*ons.Therestofthepresenta*onwe'llmakeheretodayisfromthat
compromiseposi*on.Ifwecan'thaveatotalrethinkthenwhatwe'rereques*ngisthatthecurrentplansaremodifiedsothatonlyabsolutelynecessarytreefellingis
undertaken,(egforthesakeofimprovingbiodiversityofhabitat)tonotonlyfully
compensateforbutfurtherenhancebiodiversity.Thisisabsolutelyachievable,it
doesn'thavetocostmore,allittakesisthewilltodoit.Inanycaseinaddi*ontoHLF
therearevariousfundingpotsspecificallyforimprovingbiodiversityinpublicspaces.
Butletmemakeitabsolutelyclear-atotalrethinkisourpreference,andifthere'sa
wayforustoachievethat,whetherthroughajudicialreviewand/orothermeans-
wewillpursueit.
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RemembertoothatMcrhasaproudhistoryofradicalsocialprotest-an*-cornlaw
league,radicalsandchar*stsoftheReformmovement,suffragees,RSPB,Kinder
masstrespassetc.notforgengWRownrecentcontribu*ontothatlineage,thesuccessfulac*ontostopthecouncilfellingstreettrees,whichreceivedsomuchpress
aen*on.
OurMPGeraldKaufmanisfollowingthesitua*onclosely.Hewasn'tawareofthe
plansun*lweinformedhimlastweek.Hetoldushehasstartedaskingques*ons.
We'retoupdatehimaboutthismee*ng.
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Alexparkwasamossland,alowlandraisedbog.
Fellinghundredsoftreesandclearingshrubwillonlymakethefloodingsitua*onmuchworse
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Areasofmapduetobeclearednotshowingtreessituatedthere.Allyouhavetodois
walkaroundandseehowmanytreesthereareinthoseareasthathavenotbeen
includedinthe258number(or262theplansareinconsistentretreefellingnumbers)
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Thisisexactlytheareaoftheparkwherenaturetrailswouldbe
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ReminderofMCCvisitorsurvey
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AlsocourtsatMossSideLeisureCentre
Fewercourts-wouldsavesignificantnumberoftreesinclBlackPoplarifonlyputin2toreplaceexis*ngones,withpossibilitytoextendto4ifdemand.
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Previoustenniscourtsnotmaintained,sonotused.
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MCCsurvey42%wantimprovementstolakearea
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TreeHazardEvalua*ondocumentisadamningcri*queofthetreesurveyconducted
byMCC
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Wewereverysurprisedtoreadthis,shocking.
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-Notallthatwillbeclearedaspartof'vegeta*onclearance'arecountedwithin258
number(wecountedanother84inDshapealone).Manymoreinshadedareasin
plansdueforclearance,notevenshownastrees.-NotincludednumberofOakandHorseChestnutalreadydiseased,futuredisease
includingAsh.
-Wees*mateovernext10yearsupto432treescouldbefelled.
ForestryCommissionadvice:Nomorethan5m3*mber/quarteryear,with
exemp*ons;largeno.ofAshtreeremovals(59/151=33%);shouldhavesoughtFC
adviceondiseaseandhygiene
WhydidMCC*cknoforProtectedandPrioritySpeciesinPlanningApplica*on
Sec*on13?
Expecta*onthatWildlifePanelwouldbesetupthatIandotherssuchasGMEcology
Unitwouldbepartoftoinputintodesignthisnevermaterialised
FriendsofAlexandraParkmee*ng27/11/12mee*ng-given3schemesalready
designedbylandscapearchitectforFoAPtochooseone
WantassurancethattreefellingwillnottakeplacebeforeBiodiversityMasterPlan
hasbeenapproved.WewanttoseecopyofPlan
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