Pat Burke, Ancoats, Manchester

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

It was with sadness that I heard Pat Burke had died on the 26th November 2014.  Pat Burke had been active in Ancoats for many years, recently supporting Ancoats Dispensary Trust, in its efforts to save Ancoats Dispenary.

img007 She was involved, with other Ancoats residents in the occupation of Ancoats Casualty, which took place between February 1987 and March 1989.  They were fighting to stop the closure of the casualty department, which the local Health authority had decided, had to close.  The story of the sit-in, is told in ‘Stitched Up! – Action for Health in Ancoats’ (Dunne, M.C., 1993).  Pat was one of the editorial group, along with Phil Burke, Joe Cromer, Jean Grey, Cathy Jackson and Craig Russell, which met regularly between 1991 to 1993.  There were two copies of ‘Stitched Up!’ available in the reference section of Central Library.

Local people's Commemmorative Plaque of the Sit-In

The last of years, she has been supportive of the Save Ancoats Dispensary Group, now Ancoats Dispensary Trust, in their efforts to save the old building from demolition.  Pat Burke’s Health Profile from ‘Stitched Up!, is below;

Pat Burke Pat Burke Health Profile

Dunne, M.C. (1993) Stitched Up! – Action for Health in Ancoats, Rochdale Alternative Press. 1993 Church Action on Poverty.

Manchester’s new housing deal: more questions than answers.

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

Once again, Manchester City Council, is continuing with its failed policies, of socially cleansing areas of long term tenants, to build energy inefficient homes for the young, upperwardly mobile professionals. They have learnt nothing from their failures of the past, blaming their failures on everything but themselves. Without accepting there is a problem, taking ownwership of that problem, the problem will never be resolved. Manchester, is locked in an ever decreasing spiral towards total breakdown, like Detroit in the USA, where residents are having their water cut-off: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit

Steady State Manchester

Manchester City has signed a new housing deal with Manchester City! Yes, that’s what we said, where “Manchester City” of course means Manchester City Council and strangely enough (in Manc. English) “Manchester City” also means Manchester City Football Club.

Even stranger, that football club is owned by an investment company the

On the right, Sheikh Monsoor, whose company Manchester City Council has signed the deal with. (via wikipedia) On the right, Sheikh Mansoor, with whose company Manchester City Council has signed the deal (via wikipedia)

Abu Dhabi United Group, the personal fiefdom of one Mansoor bin Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minster of the United Arab Emirates, the federation of small absolute monarchies on the Arabian Peninsular, with innovative social policies such as the use of torture, capital punishment, high levels of labour exploitation, and 14-year prison terms for homosexuality. It is also the country with the world’s highest per capita ecological footprint, although reported to be…

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Simple steps towards local prosperity

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

Here in Manchester, Manchester City Council has taken a very different approach.  This can be seen clearly in Hulme, with its redevelopment in the 1990s, an ASDA was one of the first retail units built.  The other smaller retail units and the very small market were built later, and as such have struggled to exist.  In fact, the market is now a B&Ms, with a few ex-stallholders still having a presence.  The council repeated their mistakes in Bradford, with the area being renamed New Eastlands and a large ASDA being built near to the stadium.  A large supermarket is to built in Ancoats, now referred to as New Islington, with very few local business still in existence.  The gentrification of Manchester has been a total failure but politicians still enthuse about Manchester’s success!

Simple steps towards local prosperity

Urban Splash’s vision for New Islington.

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

From Urban Splash’s own site: New Islington you can see from their images from their master-plan, they had no intention of preserving Ancoats Dispensary.  

Looking towards the centre of this image, just to the right of the grey and blue building is the site of Ancoats Dispensary but it has been replaced by another building. 

And in this image, just to the right of centre, the Chip building can be identified.  And in front of the Chip Building, Ancoats Dispensary has been replaced.  These images are from an Urban Splash web-site dated 2011, which shows Tom Bloxham and Urban Splash were not being truthful, when they said they were looking at options for Ancoats Dispensary.  It is obvious to most people, that they had other plans for the site of Ancoats Dispensary.  And if you view the time-line for Ancoats Dispensary, the roof was damaged as far back as 2005 and no attempt made to repair it.  Nor did Manchester City Council exercise their powers to repair and compulsory purchase powers to remedy such deliberate neglect/