Just SIX Councilors decided yes - so PLEASE ask for an independent review! The Secretary of State has said he’s watching what’s happening on the plan for this 40 storey tower so close to our Town Hall and its heritage setting - that he’ll decide whether stepping in is the right thing to do once the Council makes its decision - they’ve just decided yes, though not unanimously - so PLEASE ask him to do it! The plans went to committee on 8th March - six councillors said yes, 3 said no and one abstained. Sadly, that means that the only thing left to do is to ask the Secretary of State to intervene and appoint an independent planning inspector to hold an objective review: a review NOT of what changed - ie looking backwards - but looking FORWARD at what the plans propose - the irreversible, permanent harm that such height and bulk on this site will cause for generations to come. The new approach by the applicant last year was welcome, but it didn't properly address this issue - and in terms of the planning process, it muddied the waters in a planning system that’s already really hard for ordinary people to navigate, effectively asking that Manchester settle for the lesser of two evils. We CAN ask, and the Secretary of State CAN agree - requests have to go by email to npcu@communities.gsi.gov.uk - the National Planning Casework Unit - they advise the Secretary of State.