Piccadilly Gardens: Manchester police reject judge’s ‘no-go area’ claim

Police have rejected the comments of a judge who described a Manchester city centre square as a “no-go area”.

While jailing a man for a knifepoint robbery, Judge Alan Conrad QC spoke of his concerns about Piccadilly Gardens, the Manchester Evening News reported.

However, a Greater Manchester Police inspector tweeted that while the area had “issues”, he would not “personally call it a ‘no-go area’.”

It provoked a flurry of replies, with some calling the square a “cesspit”.

A majority of posts on social media have been in support of the judge’s view.

Ken Simpson-Hay said there were “spaced out Spice junkies everywhere”, adding it was “like some sort of zombie apocalypse”.

Twitter user Nadine said it was an “intimidating place day and night” and her daughter walked an extra 15 minutes to and from work to avoid it as she was “frightened of the dealers and drug addicts”.

Jennie tweeted: “It becomes a no-go area when no one wants to go there and I for one would not take my children there.

“It used to be such a landmark for visiting Manchester but is now just an absolute eyesore!”

Amy, from Manchester, said she also took alternative routes to work, tweeting: “The whole area terrifies me and it’s getting worse by the day.”

Responding to the police tweet, Richard said: “You wouldn’t describe it as a no go area but you’re not having to worry about family waiting for the bus at 10pm. Can you please think before you tweet.”

The row comes after Manchester City Council said it was abandoning plans to demolish a “monstrous” concrete wall in Piccadilly Gardens.

Pension fund Legal & General – which owns a 250-year lease on the concrete structure – said the scheme was no longer financially viable.

The authority now intends to cover it with plants, creating a so-called “living wall”.

The square has been plagued by anti-social behaviour – fuelled by former legal high spice.

In April 2017 GMP said it received 31 calls in 24 hours, with the majority relating to Piccadilly Gardens after it launched a crackdown on anti-social behaviour in the city centre.

Fourteen of the calls were about people collapsing.
Source: (BBC News)