The fierce row between a nursery... and a 15-storey tower block

'I don't want to be held responsible if these babies get sick'

Nursery owners face an anxious wait after planners delayed making a decision on giving permission for a 15-storey tower next door.

Councillors did ‘not want to be held responsible’ if ‘these children, these babies’ attending the nursery, ‘get sick’ due to the construction process.

Representatives for the area also questioned the wisdom of granting permission - which the owners of Paint Pots Nursery, located at the foot of Bracken House next door, and DC Motor Engineers behind - said would kill their business.

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“We always say redevelopment will bring jobs. I’m not sure Oxford Road is crying out for a coffee shop,” remarked Deansgate councillor Joan Davies.

“If we lose those we are losing a city centre garage and nursery. We are not going to find a disused premises suddenly converted into a garage or a nursery.”

She was speaking at a meeting of the council’s planning committee on Thursday (March 14), which followed fierce opposition from the aforementioned firms- principally over a loss of light and disruption to their day-to-day operation during building work.

However, developers Jadebricks said the location ‘lends itself to student accommodation’ because it is ‘within walking distance of universities’.

Mike Bathurst, its director, added: “The development provides a new signposted entrance [for the nursery] from Charles Street. This is something specifically designed in our plans from the outset.

“All necessary measures will be applied. We feel we have done everything we reasonably can but remain committed to dialogue with neighbours moving forward.”

Councillors also had an issue with the amount of consultation that had taken place, as usual neighbours in Bracken House have not been able to live there since late 2022 after it was evacuated.

“Everybody knows putting up a notice on the building where [the residents] are not supposed to be living is poor communication,” added Coun Davies. For its part, the council’s planning department said it had gone above and beyond the legally-required level of consultation, with Dave Roscoe claiming he did not think ‘there was more we could have done’.

But concerns over how the construction and development would impact children attending the nursery were those which caused the committee to vote to defer the decision. That was to allow a site visit to take place to see the nursery’s play area.

“I do not want to be held responsible when these children, these babies, get sick,” said Coun Tina Hewitson — who also sits on the children and young people scrutiny committee — in moving for a deferral. “No sunlight… that’s really bad. You can get depressed.

“I worry for the children’s health. There’s no fresh air or sunlight. It could also be that we lose another nursery in Manchester again.”