A group of people stood on the pavement outside Manchester County Court. They hold small cardboard signs that say "Block the Block" and a large cloth sign that says "Hulme: Unity is strength"

Block the Block protest ahead of latest court battle over student accommodation

News | 26th March 2025

By Leslie Kerwin

Tags: Block the Block, Campaign, manchester city council

Members of Hulme campaign group Block the Block protested outside Manchester Civil Justice Centre on Monday ahead of their latest legal battle against the city council and proposals for a nine-storey student accommodation.

The campaign – first launched in 2020 – aims to overturn a council decision to build student accommodation on an abandoned site once home to the Gamecock pub.

A group of people stand on the pavement outside Manchester County Court. They hold red signs that say 'Block the Block', as well as a large fabric sign that says 'Hulme: Unity is strength' — Block the Block protesters | Credit: Leslie Kerwin

‘The community is just totally gone’

Campaigners from Block the Block say the development will drive up house prices and drive out residents, and that it represents the latest stage of developers ‘encroaching’ on the local community.

They also warn of a harmful effect on the local environment and argue that the high costs of student accommodation across Manchester will mean students will be priced out.

Roy, a campaigner for Block the Block, was hopeful for a community where younger and older people could live alongside each other.

He said: “People think we’re against students, but especially where we live – it’s an over-55s block – you don’t want to just see older people. [You want to see] a mix, a good mix.

“I’m 70 now, and I’ve lived in Hulme all my life. And the community is just totally gone. It’s not just that the pubs have gone – people forget that years ago, the pubs were a meeting place where people could discuss things and whatever. A lot of people who live in flats now don’t even know who their next-door neighbour is.”

A photo of the abandoned Gamecock Pub, a dirty white building with a large red brick building behind it. The windows are shuttered, and a large sign with a cockerel stands outside. — The Gamecock Pub site | Credit: Anna Klekot

Legal challenges

The tower block was approved in early 2024, but developers had been lodging proposals for the site for over a decade earlier. In 2012, a planning committee ‘minded to refuse’ the original plans made by private developers, allowing them to come back with modified proposals until the plans were approved.

In September, Block the Block were granted permission for a High Court judicial review against the council, alleging that it did not follow its own policy and procedures when deciding to approve planning permission for the Gamecock site.

In their legal challenge, Block the Block said the decision to allow planning pemission was based on wrong information.

Kim, a campaigner for Save Ryebank Fields who came to support the protest, said: “I think this [Judicial Review] will be good to knock the wind out of the city council. They don’t follow procedures correctly.”

Two Block the Block protesters wear red and white T-Shirts and hold red-and-white signs, both of which say 'Block the Block' — Block the Block protesters with signs | Credit: Leslie Kerwin

A vision for the future

Instead of student accommodation, Block the Block announced their own ideas for the site, alongside the Greater Manchester Tenants’ Union, architectural group Unit 38, as well as other Hulme residents who are not part of the group.

The plans would see the Gamecock site converted into supported housing for people with disabilities and a community centre, complete with café, library and social space.

In their legal challenge, Block the Block said they were hopeful the decision to build student accommodation would be quashed, and that their campaign would draw attention to issues that may arise from planning decisions across Manchester.

NQ has approached Manchester City Council for comment.