The abandoned Manchester estate no-one called home for 30 years - but some may soon

It's next to Manchester City's training ground

You might expect east Manchester’s Bebbington Street, Rushen Street, and Parrot Street to be like any other quintessential suburban streets generations of Mancs grew up in.

And they were, once.

But if you go to any of the 13 roads a stone’s throw from the Clayton Hall Metrolink stop, you won’t find smart cul-de-sacs, well-kept lawns, or smiling young families. You’ll only see crumbling concrete roads, wild bushes, and a few abandoned houses loomed over by a glue factory.

“It was back-to-backs,” Gavin White, executive councillor for housing recalled. “They were demolished at least 30 years ago.”

The former Eccleshall Street estate, next to the Ashton Canal and within sight of Manchester City’s training ground, once had 234 terraced houses. Now, it is probably the last place you’d want to raise a family with its grid of decaying streets more reminiscent of Detroit, not somewhere near Droylsden.

Long-gone addresses are still listed on Google Maps. And families will be here soon, under new council plans.

The authority, which owns much of the site, wants to build 1,000 ‘canalside’ homes in ‘four to six storey’ blocks. Development is planned here because the site is large, 20.6 hectares, and having the Clayton Hall Metrolink stop so near would give residents a fast route to Tameside and town.

Coun White added: "We are in the process of exploring the potential to bring back into use a significant area of brownfield land near the canal in Clayton, to be brought forward for redevelopment over the next few years to help meet demand for quality, affordable housing in the area.

"An initial masterplanning process has been undertaken that suggests the area has capacity for around 1,000 new homes and infrastructure across 20.6hectares - with a mix of affordable homes, supported housing, family homes and apartment living.

"The expectation would be to build a new local centre and park to create a focal point for the community, with the potential for new canal frontage on to the Ashton Canal - with the neighbourhood being well served by the nearby Clayton Hall tram stop.”

It’s not the first time Manchester council tried to breathe life into the estate, with an early 2000s plan for 400 homes coming unstuck due to the glue factory’s presence. After spending £14m and convincing Greggs to move operations from Openshaw, officials were told by the Health and Safety Executive houses could not be built next to the chemical plant in 2007.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands development will progress whether or not the Evonik adhesive plant next door moves away. An area around the factory will be left vacant if it remains, but the town hall is keen to relocate the firm.

Details of how the new homes may look, or be laid out, are set to be released later in 2026. Until then, Eccleshall Street estate's bakers' dozen streets will continue to crumble.