Past and Present

Black and white map illustration of Ryebank Fields with trees and buildings.

The illustration on this page is used with the kind permission of local artist Anna Violet ©

Ryebank Fields was formerly an unregistered tip. Manchester City Council (MCC) purchased the land in 1967 to protect it for community use and an amenity value. A central government initiative called Operation Eyesore provided funds to remediate the site and extensive groundworks to backfill and level the surface were completed in 1972. The land then became known as Ryebank Playing Fields.

Ownership: Manchester Polytechnic (at that time under the control of MCC'S education authority) were allowed to use the playing fields for sports and recreational activities. The 1988 Education Act compelled the council to transfer ownership of the land to Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) when they became an independent University.
Current Status: Ryebank Fields is officially classified as a Greenfield site. Manchester City Council prioritises a "Brownfield first" approach to development, maintaining a published Brownfield Land Register that identifies sites suitable for development.
Planning Applications: MMU stopped using Ryebank Fields as a sports and recreational facility in 1996 when they moved their sporting activities to Carrington. A planning application by MMU to build 90 houses was refused in 1996 due to the loss of open green space. MMU in partnership with Step Places, Southway Housing and Manchester Intergenerational CoHousing (MICO) submitted another planning application to Manchester City Council (Ref: 142223/FO/2025) in February 2025 to build 120 houses.

Over the last 30 years Ryebank Fields has extensively rewilded and now has over 1400 trees. Community groups and residents are continuing to campaign to save the land from development, citing the environmental impact, loss of green space, and contamination issues, while seeking to designate it a Local Green Space in Manchester City Council's Local Plan. Ryebank Fields Community Group submitted a community-led and funded planning application (Ref: 143413/FO/2025) to Manchester City Council in July 2025. If this application is approved Ryebank Fields will be retained as a community woodland and meadow.