West Indian hub in planning row
THE future of the West Indian Community Centre has been put in doubt after members received a letter informing them that a planning proposal had been submitted for the land.
Trustees of the hub on Carmoor Road, Longsight, were informed via a letter in January that planning permission had been sought for a new student accommodation building and community centre.
The letter, sent by Maddox Planning, acting on behalf of Host Student Management (UK) Ltd, suggested the new build could be a ‘more efficient and sustainable use of the site.’
But, the centre’s trustees say they have a lease with Manchester council dating back to 1981 which allows the West Indian Organisations Coordinating Committee (WIOCC) to ‘quietly possess’ the land ‘without any lawful interruption’ for 99 years.
The council has confirmed the lease, saying in a statement it had made its position clear to developers and would be ‘unlikely’ to support an application.
Anthony Brown, who was chairman of the WIOCC from 1997 to 2004 and is now director of Windrush Defenders Legal, said he was ‘very alarmed’ when he received the developers’ letter.
“The letter was the first thing we heard about the proposal.
“This has been our home for 50 years, why did they not speak to us before they made the application? It’s very concerning to us.” A representative for Host Student Management said the company had undertaken a pre-application consultation with the local community in January, with over 800 addresses invited to view the proposals and submit their views. The WIOCC centre was included within that distribution, they said.
Last week, the AfricanCaribbean and Friends Community Association (ACFCA) issued an open letter urging local MPs and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, to help try and save the ‘pipeline’ building from any future development. The letter said the centre has served the African and wider community in Manchester for more than 50 years.
Up until the pandemic, Anthony says the centre was regularly used for community education programmes, Saturday schools, legal advice surgeries and social gatherings.
On Friday, a celebration of life ceremony will take place for Elouise Edwards MBE, a key founder of the centre who died in January.
As part of the ceremony, her cortege will pause at the community centre as a mark of her association with the venue.
John Nesbitt, managing director of Host Student Management, said: “In January we wrote to over 800 addresses to seek local views about the proposals and have received over 100 responses.
“What has become clear is that the existing WIOCC Community Centre is much loved by those who have used it in the past and we are trying our hardest to understand how we can ensure that the new community centre, which forms a centrepiece of our vision for the site, meets the needs of the community.
“We have offered our full reassurances to the West Indian Organisation Co-ordinating Committee that Host would like to secure the longterm future of a community space at the site.
Manchester council said: “The council is unlikely to support an application, neither from a planning perspective or as the freeholder of the land.”