Protesters camp for 7 months to save fields
PROTESTERS have camped out for seven months in the latest twist in a 25-year battle to save a beauty spot.
Ryebank Fields in Chorlton has been the centre of a fight to stop a new development for a quarter of a century.
Campaigners have now built a camp with a tower, eco-house and a kitchen which has been manned round-theclock since April 24.
Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has owned the green space since the 1970s after it was gifted by the city council to be used as a sports field.
The university has had plans to sell the land off for housing since 1996 and put it on the market last year, despite an investigation uncovering dangerous materials.
Eco-protesters are calling for university bosses to keep the area as a green space.
Paul Harnett, of the Friends of Ryebank Fields campaign group, told the M.E.N: “I personally camped out here in the winter and it’s not funny. In fact I think it was the coldest I have ever been in my life.”
Paul, who is also running in the Chorlton by-election as an Independent candidate, said the camp was set up in April after demonstrators set up a ‘symbolic ring of protection.’
Paul added: “We started off with tents but are aware that tents are easily evicted, so about five months ago we built this tower. It’s a permanent structure and somebody has slept in here every single night – many times by MMU students.”
The tower stands at the Longford Road entrance to Ryebank Fields and is more than 6ft tall.
Paul said: “The reason it’s high is because if an eviction was to happen, if you’re over 6ft from the ground, the police would need specialised teams to evict you.
“It’s all legal. There’s a legal notice on the tower, there’s also a legal notice on the house.”
Campaigners are keen to turn it into a community space with eco-pathways, workshops and a forest school.
The Friends of Ryebank Fields claim the land is unsuitable for development after an investigation found dangerous materials.
But MMU said the ‘majority of asbestos’ was unearthed due to grim weather and the continued use of the site by the public.
Resident Tara Parry said: “What if it is dug up and transported down our streets, you know with the three primary schools in proximity?”
A MMU spokesperson for the university said: “Our reports show asbestos is being brought to the surface due to soil erosion caused by weather and the continued use of the site by the public.
“That is why we have asked the public to stay off the site.”