Now the discussion about building new houses on a much loved open space is not an easy one.
Easy if you want to live close to where you were born and close to family, less so if you have come to treasure the place which could soon become a building site.
The land in question is Ryebank Fields that bit of open land at the bottom of Longford Road which for a big chunk of the 20th century bordered our old brick works, and before that was an area of pasture and meadowland.
During the 1930s it consisted of some clay pits and the lost “Cardiff Road”.
The site passed into the hands of the MMU and for decades was left vacant, but as nature abhors a vacuum the site has slowly been developing into a fascinating site for biodiversity covering 4.6 hectares.
And now given that debate I have returned to an earlier story* which featured an article by Stuart Marsden,
The history and natural history of MMU’s Ryebank Fields** which mixes the history of the site with a recent survey of the plant and animal life.
Written by Stuart it includes contributions from me and Lynsey Crellin an environmental consultant from The Environment Partnership (TEP), and together we “talk about the site, its history, and its current biodiversity value”.
Now this is one to read., which might help when contributing to the public consultation process.***
Location; Chorlton
Picture; The Isles, in the 1880, courtesy of Miss Booth, from the Lloyd Collection, and Ryebank Fields, 2015 Stuart Marsden
*Down at Rybeank Fields off Longford Road, with a belt of mature woodland some patches of native bluebells and a bit of our history, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/down-at-rybeank-fields-off-longford.html
**The history and natural history of MMU’s Ryebank Fields, Stuart Marsden's Conservation Research Group, http://stuartmarsden.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-history-and-natural-history-of-mmus.html
***The public consultation will run till December 15 2017 and comments and observations can be left at www.manchester.gov.uk/consultations
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| Ryebank Fields, 2015 |
The land in question is Ryebank Fields that bit of open land at the bottom of Longford Road which for a big chunk of the 20th century bordered our old brick works, and before that was an area of pasture and meadowland.
During the 1930s it consisted of some clay pits and the lost “Cardiff Road”.
The site passed into the hands of the MMU and for decades was left vacant, but as nature abhors a vacuum the site has slowly been developing into a fascinating site for biodiversity covering 4.6 hectares.
 |
| The Isles, 1880s |
The history and natural history of MMU’s Ryebank Fields** which mixes the history of the site with a recent survey of the plant and animal life.
Written by Stuart it includes contributions from me and Lynsey Crellin an environmental consultant from The Environment Partnership (TEP), and together we “talk about the site, its history, and its current biodiversity value”.
Now this is one to read., which might help when contributing to the public consultation process.***
Location; Chorlton
Picture; The Isles, in the 1880, courtesy of Miss Booth, from the Lloyd Collection, and Ryebank Fields, 2015 Stuart Marsden
*Down at Rybeank Fields off Longford Road, with a belt of mature woodland some patches of native bluebells and a bit of our history, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/down-at-rybeank-fields-off-longford.html
**The history and natural history of MMU’s Ryebank Fields, Stuart Marsden's Conservation Research Group, http://stuartmarsden.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/the-history-and-natural-history-of-mmus.html
***The public consultation will run till December 15 2017 and comments and observations can be left at www.manchester.gov.uk/consultations
In the mid sixties this area was known to some of us as The Dumps, and there was a weaving, undulating natural bike circuit, the equivalent of a bmx track, close to the Longford Park tree line.
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