New Islington is an

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

area of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, in North West England.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

and part of Ancoats, it has taken a separate identity to reflect its changed status as a regeneration area.

History

The name "New Islington" is recorded at least as early as 1817 and appeared on the 1840

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

map. There is also a street bearing the name. The name was still current in the 1960s and 70s, there being at the time, a New Islington swimming baths, New Islington Primitive Methodist church, and New Islington Conservative club. However, the name for the area fell out of usage. From its attempted regeneration in the 1970s to its current redevelopment it was known as the Cardroom Estate. By the turn of the millenium, the Cardroom Estate had a reputation as being "a crime-ridden place stuck between the

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

and Ashton canals". It was one of several millennium village projects around seeking to regenerate inner-city areas. The name New Islington was also the local residents' choice of name for the area when the prospect of regeneration was raised. New Islington is one of the seven

Millennium Communities Programme The Millennium Communities Programme (or Millennium Villages initiative), is an English Partnerships initiative to construct 7 new 'villages' that are intended to 'set the standard for 21st Century living, and to serve as a model for the creation ...

areas. Funding for the area was secured in 2002 and property developers

Urban Splash Urban Splash was founded in 1993 by Chairman Tom Bloxham MBE and Creative Director Jonathan Falkingham MBE; the company has spent more than two decades working with architects and designers to restore old buildings and create new, sustainable c ...

have been at the forefront of developments including the Chips building. In 2007, coinciding with the regeneration of the area, the Ancoats Primary Care Centre was opened on Old Mill Street. The New Islington Medical Practice operates in the centre. The Grade II listed Ancoats Dispensary is also situated on Old Mill Street. The building became the centre of a dispute between re-developers Urban Splash, who wanted to demolish it, and campaigners fighting to save it. The Dispensary was spared demolition in 2013. In July 2014, the Ancoats Dispensary Trust, which intend to redevelop the building, received a £770,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help stabilise and repair the building. However, as of October 2018 works on the site have stalled and the future of the building's regeneration is now uncertain. As of 2023 the Dispensary is being redeveloped into luxury apartments thus retaining the facade of this historic grade 2 listed building.

Governance

New Islington falls within the city and borough of

, itself in the metropolitan county of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

. Most of New Islington falls within the Ancoats and Clayton electoral ward. However, the area from Old Mill Street to Pollard Street does not fall within the ward boundary, instead falling in the Bradford electoral ward. Each ward has three councillors which represent their area on Manchester City Council. The New Islington area is represented by the Manchester Central parliamentary constituency. The current MP is

Lucy Powell Lucy Maria Powell (born 10 October 1974) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for ...

(

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

) who represents the constituency within the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. Powell was elected following a by-election in 2012.

Transport

New Islington is bounded by

Great Ancoats Street Great Ancoats Street is a street in the inner suburb of Ancoats, Manchester, England. A number of cotton mills built in the early and mid-Victorian period are nearby, some of which have been converted into residential or office buildings, such ...

to the west, the Rochdale Canal to the north-west, New Union Street and New Islington to the north-east, Weybridge Road on the east and Pollard Street to the south. The area is served by New Islington tram stop on the Metrolink's

East Manchester Line The East Manchester Line (EML) is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester, England, running from Manchester to Ashton-under-Lyne via Droylsden and Audenshaw. The line opened in 2013 as part of phase three of the system's exp ...

. The stop, adjacent to Pollard Street, opened in February 2013. In December 2013 the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee announced after their annual fares review that the station would now fall in the City Zone category.

Education

The New Islington Free School primary school is located on Hugh Oldham Way, New Islington Marina and is bordered by the Rochdale Canal. The school is operated by

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and supported by Manchester City Council.

Image gallery

File:Chips1.jpg, Chips (2009) File:Islingtonwharf2.jpg, Islington Wharf Phase 1 (2010)

References

External links

New Islington home page

New Islington location and map page

Oxygen Tower

Manchester City Council's Regeneration Team
{{Manchester Areas of Manchester