Please Write a Letter to help Save Library Walk

Dear Loiterers

Some of you may recall the fight for Library Walk, one of the most precious places in Manchester (oh! those sensuous curves!) being nothing if not tenacious the fight ain't over and we have a very real chance of a public inquiry and review of the project.

Please help protect public space and a beautiful place by writing a letter.

A Stopping Up Order has been issued to close Library Walk, if a number of objections are received then an inquiry must be launched by The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This is an opportunity to review the whole scheme and our experienced legal team are confident we have a very strong case to present at inquiry.

If you write a letter to oppose the Stopping Up Order we can halt work and trigger an inquiry. Your letter does not have to be long but every letter will count and will help us. The deadline is tight – we have until February 28th to act – and we have been advised against writing a pro forma as letters should be individual but here is a guide to what you could say.

You need to be polite, concise and logical and make it clear you object to the stopping up order. You do not have to live in Manchester to have your voice heard. NB this is a different legal process to the planning application so any previous correspondence is not counted here, but you can of course, cut and paste from anything else you have written. I’m writing a letter on behalf of The Friends of Library Walk and am happy to send you a copy if you want to see.

YOU MUST INCLUDE your name, address and the reference L/NJM/EVD5001/1080. State that you oppose The CITY OF MANCHESTER LIBRARY WALK FOOTPATH, MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE PUBLIC PATH STOPPING UP ORDER 2014 and include your reason(s) for doing so

Reasons to object can include

1) Public Interest
Library Walk is a place of significant architectural merit, between 2 grade II* buildings in two conservation areas and has been an integral part of the city centre topography for over 80 years. Library Walk has an important function increasing the permeability of St Peters Square (which will become more popular as a result of the redevelopment). Improved access, vibrant streets and aspirations to be a 24-hour city have been key aims of recent Manchester Council policy and stopping up Library Walk conflicts with these. Library Walk is a useful and well-loved route for residents which has inspired artists and attracts tourists. Of course these are not the only reasons closure is not in the public interest so feel free to include your own.

2) Closure of Public Space
Manchester Council are seeking closure of a public space and there is a fundamental objection to this. The limited opening times can be changed in the future as once a right of way has been extinguished, it will not be public anymore and there is no power to object to variations. Incidentally the proposed opening hours are shorter than Metrolink opening hours and security should not be a consideration under The Town and Country Planning Act

3) Legal Process
We believe Manchester City Council have been acting illegally as no temporary stopping up order was granted prior to commencing work leaving them open to prosecution, The Council should be setting an example and following the law.

LETTERS MUST BE SENT TO Liz Treacy, City Solicitor, PO Box 532, Town Hall, Manchester, M60 2LA quoting reference L/NJM/EVD5001/1080

The deadline for receipt of letters is FRIDAY 28TH FEBRUARY so please act promptly. Also let The Friends of Library Walk know you have responded so we can provide evidence of widespread public support. We are working with organisations including manchester modernist society, The Open Spaces Society, The Greater Manchester Pedestrian Association and The Ramblers Association and thank you all so much for your support.

If you need any more information please contact me directly on 07974929589 or by email savelibrarywalk@gmail.com I’ve also got a stash of stamps and envelopes if you need them. Background information can be found at http://friendsoflibrarywalk.wordpress.com/

Thanks again, and please forward this to anyone who may be interested - remember every letter can make a difference.

Best wishes

Morag Rose
Friends of Library Walk

February 2014 - an anniversary derive

Dear Friends and Comrades in Loitering

It's First Sunday This Sunday and the seventh anniversary of our monthly wanders! I am both thrilled and perplexed that we have reached this milestone and wish to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has walked with The LRM whether on the streets or in cyberspace. Our new webthingummie will be appearing this month so I'll save the critical reflection and launch straight into an invitation to join the celebrations in the most fitting way I can think of: a dérive.

We will be gathering at 2pm in John Rylands Library Cafe Deansgate on Sunday 2nd February. We'll be setting off on a treasure hunt based around a lucky seven discoveries very close to our heart....

The nature of this expedition means I have no idea where we will end up, so please try to be punctual, but we will doubtless conclude with beverages and blethering, in good time for those who wish to enjoy the new year fireworks.

It would be lovely if you could join us playing out, please holler if you need any more information (but no clues about the treasure!)

Love and golden apples
Morag x

All welcome to the First Sunday Derive of 2014

The First Sunday of 2014 is nearly here! This year it coincides with twelth night and so we will be revisiting a few ideas beloved of The LRM; notions of the world turned upside down, of fluidity, chaos and the (non-gender specific) Lords of Misrule. So please, come dressed for the weather and prepared for leaps of imagination to rechape the streets of manchester into the city we want to play in.We'll meet outside Urbis (aka the football museum) at 2pm on Sunday 5th January. It's back to the day job afterwards so lets eek out every last drop of inspiration an joy from the festive period....

In terms of  loitering praxis 2013 was a wonderful year: It started with The Art of Walking, a 7 week course I wrote and delivered for cornerhouse which remains one of my favourite things I have done ever. There were also 4 conference papers (On Walking in Sunderland was a particular highlight of my year), 4 guest lectures for various university classes, a contribution to the group exhibition ways to escape, the monstrous manchester tour with Julian Holloway for Manchester Gothic Festival, a revised modernist heroines tour for Alternative Histories festival, the first official London loiter, I made a radio show, interviewed one of my favourite film makers at Manchester Art Gallery, curated a mini-season for trauma film club, talked about urban interventions for the urbis research forum, chaired a debate on regeneration in Manchester, got two items accepted for publication and officially became a master (sadly not The Master but my timelord dreams arent dead yet!). Blurring the lines of my day job I organised the Ardwick Green Heritage Day which explored the histories of this fascinating, and often overlooked suburb. And of course there were 12 first Sundays, all marvellous, all different and I am grateful to all who contributed to them, especially Rose Bush and Dale Meakin who facilitated derives.

So yes: heartfelt thanks to everyone who wandered with me and supported the lrm in a myriad different ways. Now: Onwards and Upwards (in a meandering way of course) and please, if anyone has any ideas for future expedititions, collaborations or other shennanigans please do get in touch. Already planned for 2014 are three events for Manchester Histories Festival, a new website, the launch of the community drone and a couple of art events...

December's First Sunday

Hello everyone

It’s First Sunday this Sunday and we’re going to do something a little different. I’ve been sifting through The LRM archive and a few themes keep recurring. One of these is the pleasure we find in what Richard Mabey calls “accidental nature,” the blurred lines between what we call civilisation and the beauty of buddleia colonising derelict buildings and the gorgeous textures and potentials of canalsides, embankments and neglected playgrounds. Of course we are not alone in this delight, or our search for the edgelands. Marion Shoads work is well worth a read here http://www.marionshoard.co.uk/Documents/Articles/Environment/Edgelands-Remaking-the-Landscape.pdf.

The second theme is the contradictions and (im)possibilities of communal flâneurie, a subject which I’ll return to another time, and my fear that some people feel they need to be told how to dérive. You do not, and please don’t save wandering for First Sunday. We all have the power to transform place through wandering here, now, and always. So…..

A First Sunday with multiple options and elements which I hope you will choose to contribute to. On Sunday you are invited to go for a walk on your own, anywhere, anytime, but please let it be guided by nature. You may follow birds, or trace lines of moss, or let your eye be drawn towards swirling leaves. Simulacra and spectacular “nature” may be included too; what are the fake plastic trees trying to tell us? Concentrate on the way flora and fauna penetrates the city, challenging, buegulling and enchanting us. Also try and think about how the experience is shaped by solitude. Record your journey any way you fancy, in your head, photos, drawings, words, tweets @thelrm or just stay in bed and make up a story.

On Monday the experiment will be repeated collectively (or conducted for the first time if you skipped the preceding paragraph). Please gather in The Britons Protection, Great Bridgewater Street at 7pm, we’ll leave at 7.15 and explore the same notions together, doubtless ending with a blether and a beer.

Everyone is welcome to take part in either event, Sunday or Monday, if you have any questions, comments or want to say hello please send me a message or email loiter@hepzombie.co.uk tweet @thelrm or call/ text 07974929589

Finally, a prize will be awarded for evidence of the most audacious buddleia, interpret that as you will and please get your entries to me before the end of the year.

Love and golden apples

Morag x

Whose City? Debate Reminder

The Mule are hosting the Whose City debate tonight, 7.45 at the Black Lion in Salford. The event is free, all welcome and I'm chairing. Here's a wee interview they conducted with me to get you in the mood: http://manchestermule.com/article/friends-of-mule-panellist-spotlight-morag-rose

November's First Sunday: In Memoriam

I am delighted that November has spawned not a monster but a very special First Sunday, facilitated by Soibhan

Here is what she says: 

lets wander around Angel Meadows, and remember the unmarked graves of the poor. In Angel Meadows as many as 40 000 were buried between 1788-1816, many in paupers graves. In Greater Manchester there have been 1,000 paupers’ funerals over the past five years, the highest number in England, and growing. In Manchester city area "paupers" are buried in a communal grave in southern cemetery.

Wear Black for Remembrance. Bring flowers, tributes, memories, poems, songs, libations.

Paupers’ – or public authority – funerals are provided by a council or health authority when someone dies with no money or their relatives cannot be traced, do not want to be involved or have no money to pay for the funeral.

Meet outside new co-op building at 1 Angel Square 1pm

Wake at Bar Fringe afterwards.

October Derive News

First sunday this sunday. Meet 2pm lincoln square for a random derive around autumnal joys & urban wores. All curious walkers welcome. I promise a better website will be coming soon, in the meantime I'll see you on the streets xx