Dozens of homes will be built on a Levenshulme community farm after a planning inspectorate backed developers' plans - bringing to an end a drawn-out battle between the company and campaigners.
The news that 57 homes can be built on the edge of Highfield country park has disappointed locals who have opposed the plans - and who have seen the application repeatedly stalled by the council's planning panel.
In April, dozens of schoolchildren protested at the town hall's planning meeting against the plans - urging councillors to 'save their green space'.
Developers Towerhouse Systems has consistently argued that the site is not a recreational area.
On that occasion, the town hall's committee voted that they were 'minded to refuse' the plans. The panel had also previously rejected a similar application put forward by the developers in 2017.
But since then, the committee voted that they were 'minded to approve' the plans - providing the developers stump up £150,000 to go towards the nearby country park.
Last month, the planning inspectorate found that - while the town hall's panel failed to make a decision before the clock ran down - there were no longer any matters 'of dispute' between the town hall and the developer.
And he argued that the money going towards the park was enough to mitigate against the increased number of visitors to the park.
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It means that Towerhouse Systems can build 57 three and four bedroom homes - 20 percent of which will be 'affordable' - on the 1.6 hectares of grazing land next to Highfield Country Park.
The developer says the scheme is bringing high quality family housing to the area.
But the plans have not gone down well with the local community.
One local resident said the result was a 'disgrace'.
Rob Booth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "This and all prior proposals to build on the land have been strongly objected throughout the local community including by councillors and MPs."
"In addition, the previous rejection of the proposal stated that the removal of the area would be 'unduly harmful to the recreational, health and wellbeing needs of the local community."
He said that the promise of extra cash by developers to make improvements to the country park - to the tune of £150,000 - doesn't change that.
It's not the first time the application found itself in front of the planning inspectorate.
An earlier appeal to the government body was rejected in 2017 after the inspector found that the plans would mean 'significant harm' to the Country Park.
But this time, the inspector wrote: "I am satisfied that the proposal would make the adequate provision necessary to offset the adverse impacts of greater usage of the Country Park likely to arise from the proposed development."
Coun Bernard Stone told the LDRS: "I would like to say that I am very disappointed with the decision. Local residents and councillors fought hard to oppose the development. We will now be ensuring that the money from the developers is used to enhance Highfield Country Park."
