Victory! Manchester Lib Dems Welcome U-Turn on School in Heaton Park

7.34.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 2nd Oct 2007

Manchester Labour are Targeting the City's Green Spaces for Property Development

Manchester Liberal Democrats have welcomed news that the City Council have abandoned their controversial plans to build a new Primary School in Heaton Park.

Manchester Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Councillor Paul Shannon said:

"Manchester Liberal Democrats welcome the news that twenty million pounds will be invested in a new state-of-the-art campus on the existing King David site, including all elements of the existing school from the nursery to the 6th form. Plans to relocate the school to Heaton Park have been abandoned."

"It's a pity Labour didn't listen to the community sooner. With election fever in the air, most people will view this as a pre-election gimmick. But it's better late than never! The people of Manchester were always totally opposed to developing a new school in Heaton Park."

Cllr Shannon stated:

"Labour have wasted tens of thousands of pounds developing these unpopular plans. They should have listened to local campaigners and the Liberal Democrats from the start. I pay tribute to the work of the Save Heaton Park Action Group, who campaigned tirelessly against Labour's plans to build in Heaton Park."

Cllr Paul Shannon concluded:

"The Labour Party in Manchester are too close to property developers, as they have accepted nearly thirty thousand pounds in donations from various developers."

"Labour have consistently targeted Manchester's Green Spaces. They have built on Piccadilly Gardens, and are selling off allotments in Manchester, such as at Edge Lane. They also want to sell-off land at Marie Louise Gardens in South Manchester. Only the Liberal Democrats are campaigning to halt Labour's destruction of Manchester's Green Spaces.

"The struggle to stop Labour destroying our Green Spaces goes on. I am calling on all Councillors in Manchester to support the Liberal Democrat Motion at next week's Council meeting, asking the Council to rule out the sale of any land at Marie Louise Gardens, and to preserve all the land owned by the Council at the Gardens for recreational use."

End

Manchester Liberal Democrats "called-in" these proposals for extra scrutiny in July 2005, and called for Manchester-wide referendum on the issue in a Council motion in March 2006.

Before today's U-turn, Labour were firmly behind the proposals to build a school in Heaton Park. A transcript of a debate on the issue at a Manchester Council meeting is available on the news page of the "Save Heaton Park" website:

http://www.saveheatonpark.com/news.htm