The Manchester streets where people are 'very, very worried' about a new threat to homes

First the city was battered by the elements. Then the police came in the middle of the night.

They knocked on doors and told those inside to leave. Anxious and in disbelief, residents fled their homes.

That was the reality for people living in 2,000 south Manchester properties when Storm Christoph left its mark in January 2021. For some, it was a reality that was relived 13 months later, with Storm Franklin.

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Communities in Didsbury and Northenden, by the banks of the River Mersey, already face concern when storms come to town. The fear of flooding is never too far away, particularly with more extreme weather events expected by scientists in the years to come.

So it's little wonder the latest proposals from HS2 have caused alarm among many in the community. Bosses behind the high-speed railway project want to build a 'sizeable' ventilation shaft at the former Hollies Convent School site.

They say the infrastructure is necessary to regulate air quality and temperature in the HS2 tunnels which would run below it. But there is a growing belief in the community that the current plans are simply in the wrong place.

The location sits in 'flood zone three', meaning it is currently deemed to be an area of significant risk of flooding. Alison Hunt, environmental officer for West Didsbury Residents Association, says people are 'very, very worried'.

She told the Manchester Evening News: "It's in a very densely populated area, near the River Mersey, which floods regularly. We've had two 'one-in-100-year' events in 2021 [and 2022], and a lot of people were evacuated from their homes.

"This will undoubtedly increase flood risk." Alison