The one mile drive from Silk Street to Regent Road in Salford is a boulevard of high-rise apartments. They are part of a forest of towers which now straddle both sides of the River Irwell in central Manchester and its twin city.
But in Ordsall, locals and three Labour councillors are saying enough is enough.
A total of 2,192 residents have signed a petition against plans to demolish Regent Retail Park at the heart of the district and replace it with 3,300 apartments - including what would be the tallest tower in the country outside London.
The shops which would go serve a community where 689 children under the age of 16 live in low-income families - 46 percent of all children in the area. The local child poverty rate is particularly high for older children, rising to 57 percent at age 11 to 15 years the highest rate in the city.
The stores are cheap and accessible - and include Home Bargains, Poundland, Argos, TK Max, Boots, and three large charity stores as well JD Sports and a gym. Nearby and also potentially at threat is Sainsbury's.
So far, as well as the petition, 280 objections have been submitted to the council and the well organised Save Regent Retail Park Campaign Group has produced a 34-page report on why the development should be binned.
The developers for the scheme, Henley Investment Management (HIM), insist that there will be ample commercial space provided for retailers to return. They say that as well as 3,300 apartments, a new park and retail shops would be built.
They described the plans as a 'once in a lifetime regeneration scheme' that could 'transform the future of Ordsall, Salford, and beyond'.
Two leading lights of the campaign against the plan present a powerful and feisty argument. George Tapp, a former local councillor and retired electrican, is Ordsall born and bred. He sits in his Salford Red Devils anorak and speaks quietly but with authentic passion.
He said the plans will 'decimate' the area.
Nic Leonard, secretary of the Ordsall Community Arts Centre, which she runs with George, said: "This is the only place left for Ordsall, where people who feel isolated and disenfranchised anyway, where the elderly and isolated come and meet. We have the charity shops, which we need for clothing due to high poverty and high unemployment. The developers say there will be commercial space provided but for what - artisan coffee shops and the like.
"We are fighting this hard. People feel so demoralised because all we get is apartment blocks everywhere. We are caught between Salford Quays and Manchester city centre. Ordsall keeps being called downtown Manchester - we are not an overspill of Manchester. We are Salford and proud to be with a history of the dockers, mill workers, and miners, who would not have stood for this. People say we are fighting a losing battle. I don't care if we go down we will do so fighting.
"You go to Manchester city centre and they have these lovely old buildings and examples of beautiful architecture almost cowering at the foot of these monstrosities - rectangles in the sky."
George, 75, said: "In the 70s we had mass unemployment in the Ordsall area and the council adopted a strategy of creating corridors of jobs, which were factory units, and corridors of housing, the same applied on The Quays. Now with all these developments they are picking off where it was industrial. All the factory units have gone to be replaced by tower blocks. There needs to be a strategy."
He said local residents are 'deeply upset with the loss of affordable shops'.
"Many residents we have spoken to at the community centre do not know where they will go and how they will make ends meet once the shops are closed", he said.
"Similar developments in the area have resulted in smaller retail units like bars and more expensive convenience stores.
"The application should not proceed. The campaign group believes that an oversupply of expensive luxury apartments is not what current and future residents need. It will further push up local property prices and rents making housing more unaffordable. Nearly 90 percent of the development will be either one or two bedroom apartments.
"Every one of the 3,300 homes in this scheme is unaffordable for local people. If this retail park goes it will decimate the area."
City Mayor, Paul Dennett, has said previously that although it's not an ideal state of affairs, the tower block boom in Salford is bringing in money via council tax. He said the money can be used to tackle social problems in the city.
Local MP, Rebecca Long Bailey, is opposed to the plans.
She said the £1 billion scheme will not deliver any affordable homes and could make the city's housing crisis worse.
She said it could lead to a loss of jobs and create parking problems, as it has the potential for 6,000 new residents coming to the area, with 600 parking spaces included in the plans.
She added that there are more than 6,000 people on the city's housing register, and that the proposed development could "exacerbate the housing crisis by excluding lower-income residents." In a letter to Salford City Council, she called for the plans to be rejected for not ensuring 20 percent of the planned homes are 'affordable' housing, which is a requirement in Salford's local plan.
Ordsall Labour councillors Brendan Keville, Tanya Burch and Ben Grogan have called for Salford Council to reject the planning application.
Councillor Keville said: “The proposed development is neither suitable or sustainable for the area. The £1 billion development does not provide affordable housing or support investment for the additional schools, healthcare and transport infrastructure needed. This is not the sustainable development Ordsall needs. We need a mix of affordable and family housing as well as services and infrastructure to create sustainable communities in Salford.”
The plans had been scheduled to be considered by the council's planning panel this month but are now scheduled to be heard in February, in the wake of the volume of opposition.
What the developer and council has to say
Henley Investment Management defended the regeneration scheme, and said it would provide a major boost in local employment opportunities, with about 160 jobs on site.
A spokesperson said: "Regent Park is a once in a lifetime regeneration scheme that has the potential to transform the future of Ordsall, Salford, and beyond.
"Henley has been and continues to work closely with Salford officers, consultees, and local residents on the application to ensure it meets all expectations and policy requirements whilst still delivering for the community.
"Henley is absolutely committed to delivering a material number of affordable homes and is actively working with the local authority to finding a solution that sits externally to planning obligations and viability assessments."
They added: "Regent Park will continue as a local centre and through the delivery of 86,000 sq. ft of commercial and community space, replacing almost all the existing viable floorspace, Henley is confident there is room for retailers to return to the site if they wish. We have been in conversation with our tenants since the outset and they continue to be key stakeholders in our ambitions for the future.
"By delivering more efficient, varied, and sustainable commercial units, the plans are estimated to generate new employment opportunities – delivering an increase of at least 160 jobs on site, helping to future-proof the local centre for generations to come.
"This sits separately to the 910 full time equivalent jobs created over the duration of the anticipated of the construction programme. We are happy to spend more time with the local MP and councillors to ensure that the full benefits of the development are clear."
Mr Dennett chose not to comment. A Salford City Council spokesperson said: “As with all planning applications of this size and nature, we’re working with the developers to ensure they adhere to and follow all the relevant stages of our planning application process.”
