The vasty fields of Woodsmoor - The ongoing story of Mirrlees Fields
In the middle of Stockport borough, nestled behind Stepping Hill hospital, is Mirrlees Fields.
This natural wonderland contains a herbarium's worth of flora and a similarly encyclopedic range of animals: badgers, foxes, kestrels, owls, insects, and more.
Mostly invisible from roads, and similarly unassuming on a map, it could be one of Stockport's best-kept secrets.
That is, it could be, but the controversy around this acreage has always attracted considerable attention.
MAN Energy Solutions - the manufacturing company which owns the fields - has announced intentions to sell the land.
Most residents in the local community would like to keep the fields, and so a sale of the space in its entirety to a land developer would be a bad outcome.
Some residents would like the land to be sold to Stockport Council. Others say this would be unviable, given the associated costs of upkeep.
Other residents would like to pool together the necessary funds and buy the fields for themselves and the community.
As it stands, MAN is hoping to sell a small portion of the fields to a developer that would build 200 houses; the rest of the land would be gifted to the Land Trust, along with £1.27 million to cover the ongoing costs of upkeep (this has since increased to £1.5 million in line with inflation). The Land Trust would own and maintain this remaining 43 acres, keeping the space as a nature reserve. This will be legally protected, in perpetuity, by a S106 agreement.
This latter option is championed by Mirrlees Fields Friends Group (MFFG), a formally constituted community group and small charity set up in 2007, representing the 'compromise' position.
Plans along these lines were submitted to Stockport Council and, although recommended for approval by officers, were rejected by councillors on the grounds of losing open space. MAN submitted an appeal against this decision in July, with approval of the planning inspectorate now required to overturn previous councillors' decisions.
MFFG understands that the appeal will take place on various dates between 21st Oct and 14th November 2023, and a decision will be issued no later than 18th December 2023.
The Shady Oak
In a leafy pub just a stone's throw away from the fields - now orange with the setting sun - the MFFG committee explained why they supported the compromise approach.
"It just seems as though this is a fairly reasonable compromise", says committee member Lisa.
"Yes, we are going to have to sacrifice something, but in the long run, what we're left with is the equivalent of a very large nature reserve that will be maintained."
Group secretary Lorna adds: "It's the difference between a lovely open space that's just a little bit smaller than it previously was, or potentially no space at all."
MFFG, by extension, is sceptical of any community bids for the land, on the grounds of insurmountable costs and difficulty in maintaining the space.
As member Sean argues: "Even without planning permission, the value of the fields would likely put them out of reach of any community right to bid initiative. And without the finances in place to insure and maintain the fields to a publicly accessible standard, the quality of the fields would not be protected."
"Even if by some scenario we were able to buy it, we don't have the skills, capacity or experience to manage 40-odd acres", says David, another committee member.
Lorna adds: "It's a massive responsibility. It needs to be in the hands of professionals, and that's what the Land Trust does."
MFFG supports this compromise deal, then, because it preserves the majority of the space whilst also ensuring that the area continues to be maintained by professionals at the Land Trust and safeguards the space, and public access to it, in perpetuity.
The group then explains another part of the issue: although technically private and owned by MAN, the space is not quite treated as such.
The fields were fenced off earlier this year for legal reasons, although those fences have since been vandalized. Unauthorized access, therefore, is still very easily obtained.
This means that some residents feel like the fields are open to all, an extension of the public bridleways and paths which already cross certain parts of the reserve. MAN's proposals to build on some of the land might therefore seem like a loss, but MFFG points out why this is not the case.
"If those fields had been fenced for the last ten years, and MAN suddenly said, 'Okay, let us build on this bit. We'll take down all the fences, you can have the rest of it. People would absolutely snatch their hand off", says Lorna.
"It's because they have been allowed to use it all for the past thirty years - that is the reason people are objecting."
David pithily adds: "We've not been allowed, but we've not not been allowed."
Yet although MFFG and other Mirrlees Fields groups may disagree, there is common ground in that nobody wants to see the fields gone in their entirety to land developers.
Self-admittedly familiar with accusations of NIMBYism, MFFG counters by arguing that housing desire on such a scale in the area is low, and that the area could not cope with the high level of infrastructure which would be involved in concreting all of the fields.
The group nonetheless supports the principle of a 'smaller' housing development, which MAN is trying to appeal, to safeguard the rest for the local community.
Nub News reached out to Protect Mirrlees Fields - another local group occupying a different position to MFFG - but the group declined to comment.
More poignantly, why is keeping the fields so important?
For one, David describes the importance of having nature close by: "It's where I used to walk our babies when they were little, it's where we took our kids sledging, it's where my girls used to climb trees. It's a link to a wild space in the middle of Stockport."
"When you're on that field and you look up, you could be anywhere. You can lose yourself in a bit of nature."
Sean, meanwhile, emphasises the social aspect of the area: "It's helped the community get to know each other; we know so many people in the community from just walking on the fields."
This is a passionate issue, then, but it seems MFFG - and indeed many others in the Mirrlees debate - are worn out with controversy.
"It's sad, because it is dividing the community, and at the end of the day, nobody wants that", Lorna says. "But we just can't afford to lose all of it. Once the MAN deal is off the table, if the planning gets rejected, we will more than likely lose all of it."
The fields, as it stands, are still in contention and MAN retains possession, but for how much longer is uncertain.
MFFG continues to campaign for the 'palatable' compromise deal, which requires approval from Stockport Council.
The end may nearly be in sight after years of tension.
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