Charedi delight as council rejects heritage listings

A DECISION by Salford City Council not to award local heritage listings to two properties in the heart of the Charedi area is being viewed as a victory for the strictly Orthodox community.

A bipartisan trio of Jewish councillors had argued against the move, fearing the listings could prevent Charedi residents with larger families from expanding neighbouring properties in the future.

The two Art Deco-style homes in Hanover Gardens and Broom Lane were designed by Russian-born Jewish architect Joseph Sunlight and built in 1912 to cater for a burgeoning Jewish middle class.

Mr Sunlight was also responsible for the South Manchester Synagogue building and more than 1,000 homes in the area.

Heritage England previously decided not to add the pair of houses in Broughton Park to its national list but Salford City Council officers had deemed them worthy of heritage protection at a local level.

However, the local authority decided against the proposal at a meeting last

week. Charedi Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Walters mounted a campaign and petition, joining forces with Conservative colleagues Arnie Saunders and Ari Leitner.

Councillor Walters told the JC that the local listings could have set a precedent, leading to nearby homes potentially also receiving them, impacting on thousands of Jewish residents.

It could also have affected house prices and had “massive implications for future expansion” in the area.

“Obviously in the Orthodox Jewish community family sizes are bigger than the mainstream so requirements are slightly different.

“It’s very difficult for Orthodox families, Shabbat observers, to find properties because they need to be close to a synagogue,” he said.

The outcome highlighted the benefits “of people working together from different political spectrums’’ and of Jews engaging with democratic institutions.

“One way of showing our gratitude to Britain for allowing us to practice our faith is by engaging in democracy and being part of the process from the inside and not the outside.”