GREY MARE LANE housing estate, situated behind the Etihad stadium, could be rebuilt after the council have announced plans to sweep the area.

The estate in Beswick was built in 1968, and will be one of the last in Manchester of its kind to be regenerated following thousands of new homes being planned for the future.

However, residents of Grey Mare Lane have explained that they are unsure about what this means for their future or when many of their homes will be knocked down. One of the residents, who wished to remain anonymous, told us his frustration about the uncertainty;

“You get a bit fed up with it sometimes, with ‘they’re coming down’, they’re not coming down.’”

Since 1990, East Manchester has undergone various transformations from Eastside regenerating to the multi-million redevelopment of the land between the Rochdale and Ashton canals.

In 2014 plans to create 6,000 new homes in a £1 billion deal in Ancoats and New Islington meant that existing properties in the area, many of which were from the 1960s, no longer fit in to the modern look of East Manchester.

The housing association One Manchester is currently leading a transformation programme for the Grey Mare community, with the plans stating that there is “potential for further investment into existing homes, but also to provide new homes, particularly at the northern end of Grey Mare Lane.”

One Manchester have also explained to the MEN that “it would look to work up detailed plans in the new year, before consulting further with residents.”

Local newsagent owner Mazhar Hashmi, who has been running the Grey Mare Lane newsagents for the past 28 years, explained how people are feeling in the area:

“Everybody is in limbo, nobody is none the wiser. We need to know what the plans are.”

“People keep telling me that ‘this is coming down’, ‘that is coming down’ but nothing is definite, nothing has been said by the authorities. It’s totally wrong.”

Deputy council leader Bernard Priest has explained: “Over the summer we consulted across a wide area around the Etihad Stadium and the indication from residents was that they wanted to explore the potential to improve their neighbourhood around Grey Mare Lane.”

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