Then and Now

The above illustration of Ryebank Fields is used with the kind permission of local artist Anna Violet ©

MMU - Manchester Metropolitan University 

MCC - Manchester City Council

TMBC - Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council

Ryebank Fields is 11 acres of open green space situated between Chorlton and Stretford in south Manchester. Ownership of the land was transferred from MCC to MMU under the 1988 Education Act when Manchester Polytechnic became a University. MMU abandoned the fields in 1996, when they relocated their sporting activities to Carrington. 

Since 1996 the land has rewilded into a mosaic of natural habitats. It is a fantastic green area accessible to all and is a well used and much loved community asset. The fields are home to over 1400 trees and countless birds, bats, mammals and pollinators. The fields also act as a carbon sink and natural flood plain to combat air pollution and flooding in this densely populated urban area. 

The site was used as claypits by the Jacksons Brickworks Company until 1949. After the brickworks closed the claypits were used as an unregistered landfill tip until the site was purchased with public money by MCC in 1966. Extensive remediation works were completed in 1972 which capped the landfill tip areas, levelled the surface and created playing fields. The works were funded by the central government environmental assistance scheme Operation Eyesore. 

A planning application to build housing on the land was submitted in 1996 by MMU. The application was rejected by MCC's Planning Committee due to concerns of traffic congestion, pollution and the loss of open green space. MMU appealed the decision and their appeal was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate in 1997. 

MMU created a Local Development Framework in 2019 which was adopted by MCC. The document does not contain details of any meaningful consultation. The local community were not asked if they approved of another plan by MMU to sell Ryebank Fields to housing developers, which would result in the destruction of this local green space. We believe the 2019 Local Development Framework should not be included in the Local Plan decision making process as it is out of date and is error strewn.

MCC includes Ryebank Fields in their Strategic Housing Land Availability list. The land is described as Greenfield with a capacity for 120 houses. MCC have a current and published policy of prioritising Brownfield sites for housing developments.

In the 2020 Manchester Local Plan Initial Consultation over 450 responses requested that Ryebank Fields should be designated as a Local Green Space. In the publication of the initial Local Plan responses MCC confirmed this was the "single biggest message" received. An application for Local Green Space designation was submitted to MCC in April 2020, during MCC's Local Plan Initial Consultation period (Feb-May 2020) and in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework. Ryebank Fields meets all the criteria required to be designated as a Local Green Space. If the proposal is adopted Ryebank Fields will have additional protection from development equivalent to Greenbelt status. The community continues to wait for the next Local Plan consultation period to open, in order to present the Local Green Space designation proposal for Ryebank Fields to MCC.

MMU and their chosen developers PR company (Lexington Communications) announced in May 2024 that further invasive ground surveys were about to begin. The invasive ground surveys were required to inform a planning application. Previous invasive groundworks were undertaken in 2019 and uncovered hazardous materials including asbestos. A decontamination unit had to be deployed in order to render the area safe again for public use. Step Places and Southway Housing Trust submitted planning applications to MCC and TMBC in February 2025.  

Organisations working to save Ryebank Fields include:

Ryebank Fields Community Group, Friends of Ryebank Fields, Friends of Longford Park, Women of Ryebank Fields, Trafford Ryebank Residents Association and Chorlton Craftivists.