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As a group of councillors headed towards Cambridge Street underpass earlier this week, a pedestrian shouted a warning: “They’re smoking crack, be careful." Right underneath Mancunian Way, this expanse of grass, trees, and concrete, is the fastest way from Hulme to the city centre. But it also feels like it’s the most dangerous. CCTV blindspots, streetlighting blocked out by branches, and the roar of traffic all make this oasis of greenery feel like one of the last places you’d walk through in Manchester, let alone linger. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Its reputation for danger was only worsened by a string of horrific sex attacks carried out by Robert Emmerson from November 2023 to April 2024. “The attacker would lie in wait on the path,” prosecutor Emma Kehoe said during his trial a year ago. The Manchester Crown Court trial heard Emmerson was ‘laughing’, ‘smiling’, and ‘making noises to suggest he was enjoying himself’ as his victims screamed while he ‘pinned them down’ or ‘lifted them up’ and touched them sexually. Emmerson, now 41, of Thirlmere Avenue, Stretford , was ultimately jailed for seven years. Now, there’s a move to improve the area. There are long-term plans for the underpass — but for now, councillors have secured thousands to improve it. “We have £80,000 all in. That’s for the lights, to make the graffiti look better, and extra cleaning,” said Lee-Ann Igbon, executive councillor for vibrant neighbourhoods, who also represents Hulme which contains the southern half of the underpass. Visiting the underpass on Wednesday (October 29), she added: “Believe it or not, vehicles help with light from the headlights.” In the long-term, Coun Igbon and Coun Anthony McCaul, who represents the Deansgate ward, containing the other half of the underpass, want to see it become a park people use, complete with sport facilities. Coun Igbon went on: “Residents feel safer [in the Loxford estate next door] but there’s nothing good here. “So how do we look at their well-being and health? Can we activate it so people come here and do Thai Chi, for example? “I do not think we promote it enough. I think we add to it.” What’s out of the question is levelling the area due to the amount of mature trees, Coun McCaul, deputy executive councillor for environment, added: “There’s more tree cover here than the rest of my ward. “There’s lots of grass. It’s bigger than Parsonage Gardens. “It’s not peaceful, [but] it could be a shelter during a heatwave. It needs to be activated.” The new lighting is due to be completed in early 2027, the pair said, with longer-term plans expected to be released in 18 months.
