A report from the Mancunion reported a large drop in students numbers and one article mention 3 student halls of residences in Fallowfield were empty: http://mancunion.com/2012/09/27/fallowfield-hall-empty-after-drop-in-student-numbers/. They even had an article about the rise of Asian Universities, another reason student numbers in Manchester will go down. The Daily Telegraph also had an article about the large number of course vacancies and especially mentioned Manchester Metropolitan University: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9574429/Universities-still-advertising-vacancies-before-term-starts.html.
And with the planning department and committee refused planning permission for a student block on Coupland Street; 095082/FO/2010/S1 and another on Boundary Lane: 099782/FO/2012/S1 until the need for further student commendation was proven.
Both Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester University both opposed these developments with a statement;
‘The statement essentially indicates that there is a real danger of overprovision within Manchester resulting in a high level of vacancy. This is influenced by the introduction of the full £9000 tuition fee for undergraduates, an 8% reduction in applications to higher education and the trend for more local students to live at home. MMU has seen 27% reduction in application from first year students to live in halls’.
So where is the requirement to build student accommodation on Birley Fields? And I thought it totally hypocritical of our councillors who were against these applications whilst still supporting the Birley Fields proposals.
Six Reasons Why Politicians Believe They Can Lie | Psychology Today
An interesting article on why politicians lie. And it is very pertinent to Manchester and the Labour run council. For years now councillor Richard Leese and Howard Bernstein have been trumpeting the success of their regeneration plans for the City. This is despite their are hundreds of office and retails units empty, some for years since being built. Then, there is the high unemployment, deprivation, poverty, fuel poverty and homelessness. Even despite all this evidence, their plans have not succeeded but have been proven to be a waste of tax-payers money. And in some cases, this money cannot be accounted for, but no criminal investigation or charges have been made. Still, their loyal following, including members of Labour’s shadow cabinet, think everything is fine. In the meantime, the real Mancunians (no matter what their colour), suffer. And the reason why, is explained in the article below.
Six Reasons Why Politicians Believe They Can Lie | Psychology Today.
guttae: TRADITION AND CHANGE IN POST-REGENERATION MANCHESTER
A blog which reflects my own opinions about the (de)regeneration of Manchester. And how it has achieved nothing but put money into property developers hands. All history of Manchester is slowly being erased, with Ancoats Infirmary to be demolished. The blog is quite lengthy but worth a read.
guttae: TRADITION AND CHANGE IN POST-REGENERATION MANCHESTER.
Commission Rejects UK Application to Delay Compliance With Nitrogen Dioxide Laws in 12… — LONDON, June 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ —
As part of my objection to MMU’s plans for Birley Fields campus. I raised the matter of air pollution and how the development, especially the stopping up of certain roads, would increase to poor quality in Hulme. I especially emphasised that it would have a detrimental affect of the pupils of St. Philips Primary School. I also criticised their traffic, air and noise assessment as not being adequate or of being representative of the actual conditions.
The local councillors, including the councillor for the Environment, the Planning Officer and Planning Committee, ignored such concerns. If fact, the Planning Committee never conducted a site visit, even though this is a major development. Hulme already suffers from a high rate of ill-health, mental and physical.
No one in Government, National and Local are taking this situation seriously. In fact at a recent council meeting, it was stated that the emissions from Manchester Airport, do not fall on Manchester but the North Atlantic? And the National Government does not want to comply with any EU regulations, because they say they are bad for big business?
ResPublica | Think Tank | Phillip Blond | Big Society | Government policy | Clubbing Together: The hidden wealth of communities
It is amazing that politicians need reports to tell them, what most people understand to be common sense. Though this is about social clubs and is sponsor by bingo clubs. It does highlight the importance of community groups and volunteers. This is why most of us were shocked when Manchester City Council, shut down Youth Clubs. They also do not realise the importance of Public Houses, as meeting places as free meeting places for community groups. In fact,in Manchester City Council, has actively worked to shut down any community group which it feels threatened by. Instead of listening what these groups have to say and working with them, to bring about a win/win situation.
Manchester City Council to axe head of planning post
This article from Planning, is about the shake of the highly paid jobs in Manchester City Council. It is a pity, this was not done the other year, instead of axing funding for Youth Services and Sure-Start.
Manchester City Council to axe head of planning post.
Manchester City Council is to abolish its £70,002 a year head of planning post, one of a host of high-ranking roles that the local authority says will save more than £1 million a year.
Peter Babb, head of planning and building control, is to take early retirement, the council said. The role will be discontinued.
The council said that further cuts to its planning services would also be made. In a report published last week, the council said it anticipated “further management changes” to its planning services that would result in “further savings”. These proposals are expected to be debated by the council’s personnel committee, made up of six officers and headed by chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein, in June. Further details were not available at the time of writing.
Steve Mycio, the £138,066 a year deputy chief executive (regeneration), is to also leave as part of a shake-up of the local authority’s planning and regeneration services. The post is to be abolished. Responsibility for economic development and regeneration, will fall under the remit of the assistant chief executive (regeneration), who will report directly to the chief executive.
The £120,894 a year post of strategic director of transformation, currently held by Elaine Bowker, is also being discontinued. The strategic director of transformation’s functions will be integrated into the role of deputy chief executive (performance).
The council said that the new “corporate core” of the council, comprised of the chief executive, city treasurer, city solicitor, director of communications and deputy chief executive (performance), would be in place from 12 April. Planning understands that the incumbent deputy chief executive Geoff Little will continue in this role.
Last month the council published its proposed budget for 2011/12, setting out how it intended to make £109 million of cuts over the next financial year, rising to £170 million in 2012/13.
Biogas, the Forgotten Free Renewable Energy | ecogreen4us
I have mentioned over the years the benefits of Bio-digesters, the fact they produce methane whilst also providing nitrogen rich fertiliser. Other countries have embraced this technology, even in the poorest parts of South America. There, households are providing themselves with cheap energy from their own organic waste.
But in the UK, they prefer to invest in incineration of waste and biomass (mostly from imported wood), which emits CO2, particulates (dust). Addition waste incineration emits dioxins, furans and other pollutants.
I have put forward several options for bio-digester plants to Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Councillor for the Environment. But, I am always rebuffed with why the council will not invest in bio-digesters. One of the reasons is the Viridor, who took over the waste management services were supposed to incorporate Anaerobic Digester plants at their waste treatment plants for organic waste. But I have not heard or found any evidence that these plants are operational.
I did alert Nigel Murphy to a project in Glasgow where the residents food waste went into In-Vessel composting units. Thus avoiding CO2 from transportation of the waste and providing compost for a community garden. I mentioned that instead of just composting the food waste, use it to produce energy as well. But the Council does not seem to be interested in investing for the long term future, but only in the short term profits of developers.
Interview: Mary Heaney of MMU
My thoughts on Manchester Climate Monthly’s recent article on Manchester Metropolitan University.
MCFly co-editor Arwa Aburawa interviews Mary Heaney, Director of Services at Manchester Metropolitan University, whose responsibilities include the environmental sustainability agenda
Besides saving money, what are the reasons MMU is taking green action?
Money isn’t actually the top priority for us in terms of sustainability – it’s our corporate social responsibility. We are an organisation that devotes it self to the next generation and we think it’s absolutely incumbent upon us to be responsible in the way we operate and look at the way that we function from everything from the amount of chemicals the cleaners use to me pulling down the blinds when I leave that this room is bearable the next day to the way we operate our labs. It’s about being part of the solution, I guess.
Another top motivator that MMU talk about is that preparing students for new realities and embedding green thinking makes them…
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New Statesman – Acknowledging the scale and urgency of the challenge we face
An article from John Broderick from the Tyndall Centre raising awareness that to combat Climate Change, we urgently need to reduce our energy consumption and how we use that energy. Something the Government and Manchester City Council do not seem to understand. Manchester City Council continue to let property developers build to the lower energy efficiency standards and ensure they include measure like rain water harvesting and grey water recycling. Walk around Manchester after midnight and see all the wasted energy from unnecessary lighting on, in buildings and outside them. The profusion of illuminated and automated advertising hoardings. And yet, the Council still talk about their ‘Manchester – A Certain Future’, without taking any real action.
New Statesman – Acknowledging the scale and urgency of the challenge we face.
In Manchester we have the council investing in the expansion of Manchester Airport, promising it will bring jobs and improve the local economy. Neither is true, especially when the majority of people who work at the Airport do not come from Manchester. And Airports suck money out of the local economy, with people flying and spending their money abroad. Manchester City Council has made very little progress towards a low carbon future, even though Siemens has it one of it’s Headquarters in Manchester.
This post is by Nick Mabey, chief executive and a founder director of E3G. It was first published on Guardian Sustainable Business.
Walking into Westminister tube station, members of parliament currently find themselves surrounded by a phalanx of purple adverts announcing that “The road to economic growth is … a flight path”. This is just the most visible manifestation of a massive business-led campaign arguing the importance of increased airport capacity to the UK economy.
At one level you have to admire the chutzpah of the British Airports Authority (BAA) in making this argument. New airport capacity is irrelevant to UK economic recovery and will not provide a single additional job before the end of the decade. With business passengers making up only 12% of total UK flights it is also clear that absolute capacity constraints are not a material business issue. But at least BAA’s opportunism is understandable…
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