One of the aims of this research is to understand how the
building of sports stadiums as part of regeneration projects is perceived by
the numerous different individuals and groups involved. Therefore, I need to obtain as wide a range
of perspectives from the different individuals and groups involved in these
projects as possible. This might
eventually enable me to reflect these views in conclusions on how successful,
or not, this use of sports stadiums in urban regeneration has been.
Hoarding advertises a new sixth form Academy for East Manchester |
The Etihad Campus development is taking place across the
road from the football stadium in East Manchester ,
an area of former industrial sites that included a mine, wire-works and a
chemical dying factory amongst others.
By the 1980s most of this industry had disappeared and the local
population was in severe decline. This
decline has at least stabilised with the New Deal for Communities investments,
building of the Commonwealth Stadium in 2002 and new housing stock. The plan is that the Etihad Campus
development and other schemes that involve the football club, Manchester City
Council and their joint development vehicle, New East Manchester Ltd (NEM),
such as Beswick Library and a new sixth-form Academy will further improve
prospects for people in the area.
As part of my research in October last year I attended a
consultation and exhibition programme on the next phase of re-development of
the area at Beswick Library. I also took
the opportunity to walk around the area.
Judging by the number of people attending the exhibition at the library
somebody that I spoke with may have been right in their analysis that local people
have become “consulted-out”. This
perception was supported by the fact that a representative from NEM was keen
for me to complete a questionnaire despite being aware that I did not live in
the area.
New housing in Beswick |
Walking around the area surrounding the Etihad Campus development
and accepting that it was an overcast October afternoon, I was struck by how
desolate some of the area looked. On
approaching Beswick there are signs of large sums of money having been spent on
new housing stock, although the new buildings can seem almost alien in this landscape. It will be interesting to see if the football
club’s development can effectively link with the local community. The area did remind me of California in at least two respects: it is
broken up by a series of major roads and it also seems that hardly anybody
walks around. This can be a bit
intimidating, especially when you do eventually see a group of people walking
towards you.
In March of this year I spent a week in Manchester to interview a number of people
connected with the development and attend a conference at the stadium. The interviewees were all excited about the
Etihad Campus Development. There is
certainly a positive story to tell from the perspective of those in control of
developments in East Manchester , which makes
it slightly surprising that there is sometimes a reluctance to discuss the
details with researchers. Although, from
the many documents that I have already reviewed, I am aware that other
perspectives exist about the football club and the regeneration project more
generally, which might explain some of the reticence. Perhaps they are also fed-up being asked
questions by researchers.
I will be back in Manchester
later this month at an event run by the football club in the hope of
“snowballing” from a few more potential interviewees in order to eventually
reach the research nirvana of saturation of viewpoints.
At the same time I am making a start on data gathering for my
comparative case with Tottenham Hotspur’s Northumberland Park
project, which includes a new football stadium.
Again this project seems to have been broadly welcomed, with the
football club and local council working closely together to agree the details
of the development. However, there are
also signs of some local disquiet about use of funds that have been provided
following the 2011 riots that started in the area and the issue of top-down
development. The top-down development
applies to a number of projects in the area including the Northumberland Park
project. The concerns of local groups
include issues such as lack of consultation, use of compulsory purchase orders
by Haringey Council, use of public funds to subsidise private developments and
the failure to include social housing in newly approved plans.
At the moment the ideas my research cover seem to be
expanding, together with the consequential need to interview increasing numbers
of people that are connected to these issues.
At some point I am going to have to unravel and make sense of this
research data, which seems to most resemble a mounting plate of spaghetti at
the moment.
To be continued.