Controversial plans to rebuild former Central Retail Park have sparked a hot feud between the leaders of Manchester Council’s political groups.
Liberal Democratic Councilman John Leech said Labour leadership had shown “bad leadership” by not adding more green areas and housing in his vision of a carbon-free “dynamic” neighborhood.
But the head of the council, Sir Richard Leese, responded at Wednesday’s executive meeting, accusing his counterpart of “ignorance,” “deception, and “disdain” by others living downtown.
A proposed progression framework for the centre site, purchased through Manchester City Council for 37 million pounds in 2017, provides approximately 1 square meter of area with a prospect of 10,000 jobs.
Three separate plots of land surrounding the 10. 5-acre site on Great Ancoats Street would also be used to “promote” up to 145 new homes.
Cotton Field Park would also be updated alongside a new public plaza; however, in 3 separate public consultations, requests were made for more public green areas and housing.
Councilor Leech, head of the Lib Dem Group on the council, took advantage of a report that Mayfield’s £ 1. 4bn regeneration, including a £ 40m park, has demonstrated the council’s commitment to investing in space public.
He said: “It is frankly ridiculous to recommend that this 20-minute walk park structure will suffice.
“I don’t think this will show very intelligent leadership to personal developers about the importance of green spaces. “
Councillor Leech echoed the considerations raised in the consultation concerning the long-term call for offices in the process of transitioning to paintings of covid-19 pandemic houses.
The assembly learned that it was “blindly obvious” that Central Retail Park could be remodeled to prioritize the call for social and affordable housing in the city centre.
“This is the best opportunity the council will miss out on because it is not compatible with the council center’s policy of social cleansing,” added Councilor Leech.
Coun Leese accused Coun Leech of “cancelling” the board’s 37 million-pound investment in Central Retail Park in favor of spending another 40 million pounds to turn it into a green space.
He argued that the council had helped repopulate the core of the center of “expelling others. “
Coun Leese added: “There are very transparent plans for social housing not only in Ancoats but also in the city center. Frankly, his ignorance is appearing. “
In response, Councilman Leech questioned the preference of building a public park, but stated that there is a expectation of an open green area detail in a downtown development.
The Liberal Democrat insisted that the council had a social cleansing policy of “preventing others from living downtown for years and years. “
He added: “There has been a post-progression progression with little or no social housing. “
In his conmarks, Councilman Leese told the assembly that the vast majority of people living downtown were working-class people brought through the labor market created there.
He told Coun Leech: “The way you despise other people who live in the city centre is horrible.
“You’re an idiot to people, yet I think the deception is a little broken today. “
The Central Retail Park framework was unanimously approved by the executive, but individual advances on the site will require approval from the plan-making committee.