Free Legal Advice In Crisis Conference: Saturday 9th February 2013

2010/11 was the year in which the first round of budget cuts to local council services were announced, and when they hit, they hit hard. Manchester City Council removed £40M from its Adult Services which included closure of ‘Manchester Advice’, which provided independent and confidential advice in a range of areas covering debt problems, access to welfare, consumer issues and housing.

This appears to have been a mistake.

The government’s changes in legal aid, delayed for 6 months due to fierce opposition, are now due to come into effect in April 2013.

The high levels of concern regarding these changes center on 3 areas

• the changes to welfare benefits (‘bedroom tax’, ‘universal credit’, ‘disability living allowance’ and more) which will affect a large number of Manchester residents
• the funding cuts to voluntary sector advice centres in general, leading to fewer organisations able to help
• the reduced funding of legal aid itself and the areas it will cover.

The issue of cuts to legal aid itself is hugely important. From April, legal aid advice

• On all welfare matters will be abolished (e.g., no support for challenging unfair decisions)
• On all Debt will be abolished (e.g., dealing with deal, court, knowing your rights)
• On Housing will be restricted to immediate threats (repossession, serious health and safety) so areas of support like tenant/landlord disputes will no longer be available
• On employment problems and rights will be mainly be abolished  (e.g. unfair dismissal)
• On immigration and on family breakdown are to be restricted.

Between the closure of this city’s advice services AND the government’s proposed actions on legal aid, Manchester will be left with worryingly low levels of advice services. Manchester has extremely high levels of poverty and is presently struggling to deal with the problems is has as a consequence. 

Despite the brave endeavour by lawyers and Manchester University students to create a pro-bono advice scheme, more is needed to address what is expected to be a difficult time.

As part of the effort to address the issues above ‘Access 2 Advice’ have organised a ‘Free Legal Advice in Crisis’ – one day conference. This will be on Saturday the 9th of February 2013 with speakers from the Legal Action Network, Law Centres Federation and House of Lords.

The conference will cover happening from April, argue the case for free legal advice and the campaign to keep it.

The Manchester Green Party are proud to be one of the conference sponsors and would urge individual and organisations to support this event.

Deyika Nzeribe

Manchester Green Party Chair
http://www.manchestergreenparty.org.uk/

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Alex Park protesters take to trees to stop “Felling Vandalism"

A plan by Manchester City Council to fell over 400 healthy trees and destroy over three acres of wildlife habitat are being condemned by Whalley Range residents. The fellings planned as part of a £4.6 M series of changes to the popular Alexandra Park in Moss Side have led to protests.

Chrissy Lowe of the Save Alexandra Parks Trees campaign said "This action by the council is completely unjustified and deliberately ignores the wishes of local residents. The Council has misled the public about both
the extent and reason for felling the trees and park users regard this as an act of municipal vandalism by a council hell-bent on riding roughshod over the local residents."

The intended changes to Alexandra Park also include controversial plans to fell many much loved mature trees to make way for tennis courts despite the fact that existing courts in the park are unused and there are already
9 tennis clubs within a mile.

"Yesterday felling began and we were able to slow things down by taking to the trees. We will continue our peaceful but firm resistance to Council actions today and we urge anyone who is able to come down and support us.  The Council also failed in its statutory duty to consult local residents. We are confident that this doesn't fulfil their legal requirements and could be grounds for judicial review." says Ian Brewer also of the campaign.

Manchester Green Party Chair Deyika Nzeribe commented “The campaign group has done everything right. They got over 2000 signatures asking for the plans to be reconsidered, they got local experts to show how the councils plans could be altered to preserve trees and they have been in dialogue with both the Council and funders the Lottery every step of the way. They have been completely ignored.

To draw a parallel, last week Manchester City Council made a great show of how unfair the cuts to local budgets were and how the government were ignoring them. The council are acting in exactly the same way as the government to this local issue.”

Anyone concerned about the Council's plans is urged to contact the Save Alexandra Parks Trees Group. A similar plan to fell 476 in Whalley Range was abandoned a year ago following a public outcry.

To get involved contact

Ian Brewer and Chrissy Lowe

savealexandraparkstrees@hotmail.com

07757639668

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-Alexandra-Park-Trees/405847552830652?fref=ts

http://savealexandraparkstrees.wordpress.com/

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Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett in Manchester supporting the Alexandra Park campaigners

Natalie Bennett, newly elected Green Party Leader is in Manchester today supporting the Alexandra Park campaigners.

The group are fighting Manchester City Council whose plans to ‘improve’ the park involve cutting down over 250 trees. 

Their petition set up only a few days ago has already got over 500 signatures.

Natalie will be at Alexandra Park TODAY (December 3^rd) at 3pm talking to the protesters and the press. If you can make it along to support the action, do so. 

Thanks.

This evening Natalie will be speaking to students at Manchester University at 7pm.

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Manchester Economics: Steady State and Circular

Zeitgeist?

There seems to be a couple of thing s happening this week well worth looking at.

Steady State Manchester presents their reports In Place of Growth: Practical steps to a Manchester where people thrive without harming the planet and Living Well: Practical Solidarity and Steady State Economics.

The launch event is tomorrow, Tuesday November 20th at the Mechanics Institute, 7.30pm.

On Wednesday November 21st from 1.30pm to 4pm Manchester Environmental Education Network (MEEN) will hold its Greater Manchester ESD Forum. The main speaker will be Alan Turney from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Since its inception in 2010, the Foundation has been working in education to inspire an generation to re-think, re-design and build a positive future through the vision of a circular economy. For more information visit the MEEN website

(Image from Future Proof Kilkenny).

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Birley Fields 'Consultation' Event November 1st 2012

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MMU and Me: We have a problem

This is a personal opinion and does not reflect the views of Hulme Green Party or Manchester Green Party.

It seems that these are the last days of Hulme’s Birley Fields. Though full planning permission for the proposed campus is yet to be granted to Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) the organisation has fenced off the fields and begun digging up some of the plant-life.

The reality of MMU’s actions has stirred an angry reaction in the Hulme community with talk of occupying the green space in protest.

MMU is touting itself as one of the greenest universities in the country and I expect the new 7 building campus will push it up the People and Planet’s‘Green university’ list.

As part of the ‘Save Birley Fields’ campaign, we argued that the fields, which have grown naturally from derelict land over the past 30 years, are teeming with biodiversity  and as the most intense area of green space in Hulme, was of great benefit to the community.

MMU have argued that it was just a ‘brownfield site’. For myself I only see trees, bushes and wild flowers.

There are arguments backwards and forwards on the benefits the new campus will bring to the neighbourhood but MMU is already primarily based in Hulme which as a consequence already has oneof the highest student densities (p17) in the city. Along the quarter of a mile from Oxford Road to the landmark Hulme Bridge, the buildings are almost exclusively MMU related or student accommodation. The new campus would extend this.

My main issue is not with the main academic building as promoted nicely on the MMU website. It’s that of the 7 buildings in the proposal, 5 of them are 10 storey student accommodation blocks that will take up the majority of the green space.

The protests against the original planning permission got surprising little coverage in the local press despite

• It being a major local election issue for Hulme
• Local campaigners attempting to engage the MMU to negotiate on the size of the campus and to deal with the clear additional problems the new campus would bring to the area
• A reportfrom MMU’s own researchers criticizing the quality of consultation with the local community.

During this period ironically MMU was awarded a contract from the government to train ‘community champions’.

In its behaviour MMU are little different to Barclays Bank

• getting the local council to ‘donate’ Birley Fields, public land (estimated value at least £10m) to the University
• using its influence to push its vision for Manchester through the ‘Manchester Corridor’ group on whose board sits MMU Vice Chancellor John Brooks, responsible for pushing the MMU/ Birley Fields proposal, the Council’s Leader, Richard Leese and Chief Exec Howard Bernstein.
• having Eamonn O’Neill on the MMU board of governors. Mr O’Neill is the managing editor of the Manchester Evening News, the biggest circulation local paper in the city. (MMU hastily removed the page when it was point out on facebook but as you can see…)

Ultimately they say the case for the campus as proposed, is an economic argument.

For Hulme, I can’t see it. MMU seems to have enough of Hulme already and this is a lot to lose for very little gain.

So it seems likely that the new Eco-campus will be built on the Birley Fields grasslands when the majority of that space can be saved. The MMU, as its doing already, will use it as a marketing ploy to attract new students.

But an Eco-campus built on wild urban meadow and that damages a community is a lie.

So I have a marketing message of my own.

Congratulations to the students who have passed their 2012 A-Levels, it’s a difficult step to get over.

So now you are looking at University places.

MMU has some good facilities and some great people work there. BUT if within your selection criteria are a University’s environmental credentials, I can’t recommend MMU.

Go somewhere more honest and more prepared to work with the community its based in.

Deyika Nzeribe.

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Hulme Adult Education Centre Closes

We take a moment for Hulme Adult Education Centre. 
Friday July 20^th 2012 is the Centre’s last day with the office closing and staff moving to Greenheys in Moss Side. The decision to close the Centre was taken by Manchester City Council in 2011, as part of its cost-cutting budget.

The Adult Education Centre, which moved into the Library building in the early 90’s was a valuable community asset providing offer a large range of courses aimed at improving lives, getting people into work, volunteering and improving job skills.

The Centre was also the space where local people help gathered and created works that were part of the character of the area.

A well-known example of this was the ‘Mapping Our Lives’ project by residents of Hulme and Moss Side which went on to win a NIACE national award for ‘Adult Learners of the Year’ in the 90s and was an exhibition within the library.

The other is the 10 year old, 84 foot long Hulme Mural, which was created between 2000 and 2002 by the "Hulme Urban Potters" a group composed of students and tutors from the Hulme Adult Education Centre.  It chronicles the history of the community from Roman Times to the present day.

The moving of the Education Centre means that Hulme is likely to lose the service for good. In the 1960s, when the original Centre was demolished despite protests from the community, Adult Education eventually returned to the ward. There are no plans for this to happen from the Council.

The loss means the only community service left in the building is the library, which is due to be moved by December 2012. Despite concerns and sustained enquiries, the new home for the library has still not been announced and the Council refuses to say what it has planned for the building itself and the mural.

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STOP THE BLOCK (at the Gamecock)

With more planning applications being sought for student accommodation, Hulme Greens are supporting the Hulme Residents Association in preventing an 11 story block being built on the site of the Gamecock pub. 

A meeting for residents is planned on Thursday July 5th (see below) to discuss it.

The deadline for submitting objections to the development to Manchester City Council is Friday July 13th.

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Hulme Local Elections 2012 Results and Response

We, the Hulme Green Team would like to thank everyone voted for us this year.

We also would like to thank everyone who put in time, creative input, proofed, leafleted, were on the streets, commented and advised us. It was a great effort.

But we came second.

And that being the case we congratulate Labour’s Amina Lone on her re-election as councillor for the Hulme ward.

The results


Hulme Ward: Turnout 16.98%

Surname	Other Names	Description (if any)	Votes
GUISE	James Andrew Micheal	Independent	30
HARDWICK	Dom	Liberal Democrats - For A Greener Britain	94
KELLY	Jack	The Conservative Party Candidate	117
LONE	Amina	Labour Party Candidate	1301
NZERIBE	Deyika	Green Party	595

We held our proportion of the vote in Hulme, against a Labour victory in Manchester which saw all Lib Dem councillors standing lose their seats.

The Greens as a party beat the Conservatives into third place for the first time in Manchester and were not far behind the Lib Dems.

In the London Mayoral elections, the Green Party’s Jenny Jones beat the Lib Dems into third place.

If you’re a Lib Dem supporter, it’s not been a good few months, have a look at our policies, have a look at our leader Caroline Lucas.

For Hulme and the electoral process, it has not been a good poll. The turnout was 16.98% which extremely low and the second worst in the city.

83% of Hulme residents didn’t vote. Politics is either not reaching residents or its not relevant.

Hulme Green Party will listen and work to address our community concerns as well as working harder to make its message heard.

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VOTE GREEN MAY 3RD 2012

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Hulme Green Party Election Newsletter 2

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Hulme Green Party Newsletter Election Special No 1

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Green Party Supporter? Here is how you can help…

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Hulme Green Party Events April 11th – 17th 2012

Wednesday 11th April, 6.00-7.30pm	Young People and the local elections: Election Hustings hosted by Manchester Foyer at 61 Booth Street West, with Deyika Nzeribe our Hulme candidate More information from St. Vincent's Housing Association on 0161 276 1000
Wednesday 11th April 11pm- 1am	Deyika will be part of a panel talking about local Manchester issues, Listen online at Peace FM’s the Search Engine.
Thursday 12th April, 8.30pm	Green Drinks at Kim-by-the-Sea, Old Birley Street. We will be being social and talking politics. (Planning meeting from 6.30-8.30pm
Saturday April 14th, 2012 1pm workshop start; finish at 3.45pm A light lunch will be provided from 12.15	Southern Voices Workshop Struggles for Justice: Hidden Stories, Learning from the Arab Spring, Our Role in the Struggle Venue: Hulme Hall, Claremont Resource Centre, Rolls Crescent, Hulme , Manchester , M15 5FS
Tuesday April 17th (from 7pm)	Manchester Climate Monthly is hosting a pre-election “hustings”. It’s on the question “Is Manchester City Council taking the right action on climate change?”, and it’s at the Friends Meeting House (behind the Central Library. It’s free! The Manchester Green Party Speaker will be on the panel.

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Remembering Gayle O'Donovan – A Public Celebration: Friday March 9th 2012

Gayle O’Donovan, local activist, neighbour and friend to many, died unexpectedly on January 21^st 2012.

Whilst Gayle's funeral happened in Limerick a couple of weeks ago and numerous have written tributes, many people have expressed support for having a public event in Manchester - to celebrate her life and times.

A Public Celebration will be held on Friday 9th March 2012 from 7pm at the OK Café, in Hulme.

There will be food served (from 7pm with the event starting at 8pm) and people can hang out at the venue afterwards and have a drink.

All are welcome.

How you can help

There will be a large amount of space in the evening for people to share their stories. If you have a particular item that reminds you of a time you had with Gayle, then please bring it with you. I would also like to collate a modest pamphlet of photographs of Gayle and her history.

If you have any photos or other materials that can contribute or are able to lend a hand, please get in touch robbiegillett@gmail.com.

Thank you

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