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We oppose the current plans to install a large shipping container in Beech Road Park, Chorlton, which will be connected to water and electricity supplies, the ongoing bills of which are to be funded by Manchester City Council taxpayers.

The above photo shows the approximate location of the shipping container.

Beech Road Park is a small park in the heart of Chorlton with a children’s play area and a tree lined green space, popular with dog walkers, families, picnickers and people of all ages, and frequently hosts classes and group activities for the local community. As part of a planned redevelopment of the park, The Friends of Beech Road Park have acquired permission from Manchester City Council to install a twenty foot long shipping container for storage and to have it connected to utilities for watering plants and for providing drinks to volunteers as a thank you, at an estimated initial cost of £6,895. 

We think that far cheaper and more practical alternatives to this exist. For example, volunteers can be thanked for their time with a large hot flask brought for sharing or with a box of biscuits instead, and, as a city famous for its rain, water butts can be made use of for watering plants.

The shipping container is to be used for storage of tools and equipment for The Friends of Beech Road Park and associated groups. The Friends and their volunteers typically meet for gardening sessions twice a fortnight for around an hour or two each time. We think the size and cost of the container is not justified for storing a few gardening tools, and we do not want our park used as storage for any other unnecessary and inappropriate items. 

We feel insufficient consideration has been given to the following:

• The negative impacts on the natural beauty and public enjoyment of the park from having a large shipping container in such a small park
• The loss of valuable green and recreational space taken up by the shipping container
• The impacts on local residents’ view overlooking the park
• The ongoing costs and the funding of the utility bills by taxpayers
• Whether a large shipping container is appropriate or justified for its intended uses

The purpose of a Friends of the Park group is that they are representative of the community as a whole, are actively inclusive of all user groups and represent the views of all members of their group. As these plans have not been openly shared with the public online or in any local notices, a small number of us have only recently discovered that such plans exist. As a result, we feel that inadequate consultation with the public has been carried out as to whether or not these plans are either justified or supported by user groups of the park. The other development plans for Beech Road Park include, amongst other things, a ‘Welcome Wall’, a ‘Boulder’, and a ‘Bespoke Seat with Tiles’, at a combined cost of £8,073. 

We call upon Manchester City Council to:

1. Permanently cancel the plans to install a shipping container and utilities in Beech Road Park.
2. Place further development plans on hold until a proper consultation, which will include adequate representation of all user groups of the park, may be carried out to ascertain whether the current plans are an appropriate use of funds or are supported by users.

A copy of the full plans can be found here:

Facebook: Beech Road Park Development